Monday, August 31, 2009

RSOL dot org

They slipped in a new group on me. RSOL has been around for a while and are doing good work fighting the oppressive new war on sex offenders. The E Mag and new Forum are accessible from this link, which is now also on my sidebar under the appropriate head.

Another excellent resource, Habitat for Sex Offenders, was found thru the RSOL site. There is a lot going on, as with all revolutions, critical mass and right thinking will prevail. Liberties of all Americans are threatened by the virulent extremists who are proposing and expanding the registry laws, and the politicians seeking votes off the skin of registered sex offenders, their families and circles of friends. Shame on you if you let this continue.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Help for the Falsely Accused

I discovered a new blog and resource link for those who are falsely accused of child rape/sexual abuse. There is help out there for this nightmare scenario. It is especially important in view of the new War on Sex Offenders being waged by unscrupulous law makers and fear mongers.

Related posts on this topic can be found at Grits, and Doc Berman's Sentencing Law and Policy.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Terrorism and U.S Prisons Update

A tad old, but here's a good update on the overall picture of America's prison problem. And it isn't Guantanano or terrorists that are the problem. As somebody once said, "we have met the enemy, and it is us". I am a proud American, and I think we can do better. Senator Webb, good luck. I'm on your side. Can I have a job?

From Slate: Guantanamo is the Least of Our Problems by Dahlia Lithwick.

Also from Corey Yung, America's Emerging War on Sex Offenders is the latest by America's top sex offense criminal law analyst.

This is the abstract:

This article addresses four central questions. First, what is the difference between normal law enforcement policy and a “war” on crime? Second, assuming such a line can be discerned, has the enactment of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (“AWA”) in combination with other sex offender laws triggered a transition to a criminal war on sex criminals? Third, if such a criminal war is emerging, what will be the likely effects of such a transition? Fourth, if such a criminal war is emerging with substantial negative consequences, how can it be stopped?
By reviewing America’s history of criminal wars, primarily the War on Drugs, the article identifies three essential characteristics of a criminal war: marshalling of resources, myth creation, and exception making. It concludes that the federalization of sex offender policy brought about by the AWA elevated law enforcement to a nascent criminal war on sex crimes. This change could have repercussions as substantial as the drug war has had on American criminal justice an society.

Yung has completed another article, about judicial activism.

Here, at the Economist, is a piece called America's Unjust Sex Offender Laws. Includes an audio interview podcast with Sarah Geraghty, a lawyer and activist for reform in Georgia.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Actual Innocence in Scotus

Here is a link to WP picking up a Scotus order for a hearing in the case of a Georgia man on death row who has put forward recantations of seven witnesses in support of his claim that he is innocent.

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Can it Get any Worse?

Things can always get worse, is the theme of this review of the work of historian William Appleman Williams, titled Off Dead Center, by Greg Grandin appearing in Nation Magazine. Read and heed and relish the big picture; exhilarate in taking your mind out of the cesspool of the instant 24 hour media "news" cycle.

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

One Hot August

August is a hot month in the Northern hemisphere. For the victims of the only two atomic weapons to ever have been deployed, August 1945 was even hotter. For more on that take a look at this link, to the Avalon Project of Yale University, a collection of primary sources on this, as well as other topics of historical interest.