By Jacob Sullum . . . Twenty-six years ago, when he was 23, a California man was convicted of a crime involving sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl. The federal government says he therefore must register with the state as a sex offender. But California says he can’t, because the state subsequently expunged his record and issued a “certificate of…
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By Nadia Lopez . . . A spike in coronavirus-related deaths at a state-run psychiatric hospital in Fresno County has angered and alarmed patients, who blame hospital staff for a massive outbreak that infected hundreds and killed more than a dozen patients over the past six months. One patient who spoke with The Bee said he struggled to bring attention…
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Associated Press . . . The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that inmates who have been convicted of nonviolent sex crimes may be eligible for early parole consideration as part of a ballot measure that nearly two-thirds of voters approved of four years ago. “The initiative’s language provides no indication that the voters intended to allow the (Corrections) Department to create…
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By Malik Pickett and Emily Satifka . . . Jason was 14 years old when he met his first girlfriend, a 13-year-old neighbor of the foster family with whom he lived. After a few months of dating, his girlfriend’s mother walked in on the teenagers engaging in consensual oral sex and called the police. Jason was arrested and charged with child…
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By Steve Yoder . . . In late 2006, a public defender went before a Napa County judge to argue for his client’s freedom. Rex McCurdy, a 49-year-old man, had been detained for seven years at Atascadero State Hospital under a 1995 California law authorizing “civil commitment” of people who have been convicted of sex offenses, a practice that keeps them…
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By Cresencio Rodriguez . . . A California law that will go into effect in 2021 is set to bring about the most sweeping changes ever to sex offender laws in the state. SB384 will allow most sex offenders to petition to be removed from the public registries in 10 to 20 years after they are released from prison, as long…
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Used with permission By Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg . . . Before the police apprehended Steve, he tried to kill himself by cutting his wrists, he told The Appeal. Then 20 years old, he had attempted to sexually assault a 12-year-old girl in California. “I couldn’t believe I had done that,” said Steve, whose name has been changed to protect his identity. “I…
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By Chandra Bozelko . . . Harassment and assault of women is a serious problem and we need to correct our culture to eliminate it. But the recall in Santa Clara County, California, of Aaron Persky, the judge who sentenced Brock Turner, isn’t the way to change things. The Brock Turner debacle raised controversy in 2016 when the former Stanford student,…
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By Paul Elias, AP . . . The leader of the successful recall of a Northern California judge for an unpopular sexual assault sentence warned that the results show women’s rights and the #MeToo movement are now a potent political force that politicians ignore at their own peril. “The broader message of this victory is that violence against women is…
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NARSOL Board of Directors . . . In 2016, California enacted a new penal code section that extended overnight family visitation to prisoners serving life sentences. But, through its rule-making process, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has unilaterally proposed excluding prisoners convicted of sexually-based offenses from enjoying these new privileges. NARSOL strongly protests this blanket exclusion which was…
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