Education of the media — and the public — about sexual offense facts is essential

By Lisa Anne Zilney . . . It is often said that the media doesn’t tell us what to think; the media tells us what to think about. The media frames our understanding of public issues and informs us which public issues should be at the forefront of our minds. For 8 years I have taught a college course entitled Sex…

Read More

THIS is why we so often can’t trust the media

By Sandy . . . Starting with the headline, “NC sex offender convicted of being at middle school shelter after Hurricane Florence,” almost every point made in the piece raises more questions. Hurricane Florence hit parts of North Carolina September 13, 2018, and severe storm conditions and flooding lasted for days, even weeks. According to the article, Jerry Faircloth, a…

Read More

“Routine compliance checks” are anything but

By Michael McKay . . . What would you do if you answered a knock at your door and were greeted by eight police officers and a television camera crew at your front doorstep?  Chances are, it’s not an occurrence that you would characterize as “routine,” even less so if you happen to be someone who is listed on a…

Read More

Media sex offender stories: missed opportunities to do some good

By Sandy Rozek . . . “I’d like to talk to you about a situation involving a sex offender here in Georgia.” It was similar to dozens of calls I receive as communications director of NARSOL, and the soft voice explained what the situation was. A man in Cochran, Georgia, a man on that state’s sexual offense registry, was being…

Read More

Wrapping up Halloween for another year — and looking forward

By Sandy . . . This has been an amazing Halloween season. Overall, I sent emails to 73 Patch writers and editors in 25 states. I sent emails to 27 other media outlets and/or journalists. We sent out two press releases, here and here. I engaged in conversation on several Facebook pages, most notably in regard to this piece about a little town…

Read More

The Sex Offender Registry: A Gorilla on the Basketball Court

By Michael M . . . Why does the public ignore the obvious unconstitutionality and overt cruelty of a sex offender registry that not only fails to accomplish its stated purpose – keeping our communities safer – but also condemns hundreds of thousands of registrants and their family members to a lifetime of humiliation, harassment, and the very real possibilities of…

Read More

Sticks, stones break bones, but names destroy

By Steve Yoder . . . In May, the AP Stylebook changed its guidelines for how reporters should refer to people with substance abuse problems. “Avoid words like alcoholic, addict, user and abuser unless they are in quotations or names of organizations,” says the 2017 version. For those with addictions, that change won’t just shift how they’re portrayed but how they’re…

Read More

Truth in sex offender headlines? Really?

Reprinted with permission from http://with-justiceforall.blogspot.com/ By Shelly Stow According to this article posted March 22, 46 registered sex offenders in Florida cannot be located by law enforcement. The headline, “21 sex offenders unaccounted for in Palm Beach County,” is designed as click-bait with the point being that almost half of the “absconded” registrants in the state are in one county. I propose a…

Read More

*NEW UPDATES*–In the rain, in the cold, tent in woods still stands

NEW UPDATES in comments… We have lots of news and updates about “Jerry” and “Susi” and their struggle with the South Carolina residency restrictions laws. First, total transparency: Jerry and Susi are Steve and Lila, and we will be using their real names going forward. They have agreed to go public in order to bring attention to this situation which…

Read More

National RSOL challenges media: Stop feeding the hysteria

  Replete with countless stories flowing forth from every region in the nation, a national civil rights organization dedicated to restoring constitutional protections to registered sex offenders is calling on media professionals to cease so called “ride alongs” with local law enforcement officers on Halloween. Whether it is called Operation Trick or Treat, Operation Blackout, Operation Boo, or some other…

Read More