Saturday, July 16, 2016

"We are programmed to receive": Entry to Texas sex-offender registry a one-way gate

To read Eric Dexheimer's latest Austin Statesman story, Texas' sex-offender registry is a lot like the Hotel California: You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

Grits thinks of Dexheimer as a reporter's reporter. He just keeps churning out good stuff over at the  Statesman's investigative division on important topics at which nobody else is looking closely. Forgiving the headline writer's mixed metaphor, for which Dexheimer cannot be blamed, his latest contribution, "Program to corral ballooning sex offender registry failing" (July 14), focuses on the state's failure to cull the sex-offender registry of low-risk people. Doing so lets them focus supervision resources on more dangerous offenders and provides incentives for rehabilitation to folks being supervised. Despite those incentives, though:
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, more than 90 percent of the state’s registered sex offenders are not considered to be at high risk of re-offending.

Yet the registry is like a cemetery: Because many offenders are placed on it for a lifetime, or at least decades, it only expands in size. Over the past five years, Texas has added new names to the list at a rate of nearly a dozen every day.

In 2011, Texas began a so-called deregistration process. The intent was to remove those who were unlikely to re-offend from the list and, in so doing, save taxpayers money. By focusing police attention on truly dangerous offenders, it would also improve public safety.

By that measure, however, the program has been a bust. In the 5 1/2 years it has been in existence, only 58 sex offenders have been permitted to deregister from the Texas list — less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the current registry.
He also gave a good account of the resource expended equally supervising high and low-risk offenders:
Maintaining the growing lists is increasingly expensive. In 2006, the Texas Department of Public Safety assigned 10 staffers and spent $343,000 to manage the registry. By last year, it required 21 employees and nearly four times the money.

Local law enforcement agencies, where offenders must periodically check in, bear the bulk of the costs. The Houston Police Department, which monitors more than 5,000 registered sex offenders, employs 14 people — 10 of them officers — who do nothing else.

In an office behind the Austin Police Department’s reception area, officer Adrian Valdovino processes a steady stream of registering offenders. “You still have the same vehicle? Same plates?” he asks one. “Any other vehicle you have access to?” Each appointment takes anywhere from five to 45 minutes.

In recent years, the unit — seven officers and two civilians — moved to a larger office to accommodate the city’s approximately 1,800 registrants who must check in anywhere from monthly to annually. Occasionally, officers also stop by their listed addresses to make sure they really live there.
He even quoted former Texas House Corrections Committee Chairman Ray Allen, one of the original authors of our sex-offender registry statutes (and, conflict alert, one of your correspondent's former campaign clients back in the day), saying he was:
convinced the growing registry was actually threatening public safety.

“When we first started writing sex offender notification bills in 1995 and 1997, we cast the net too wide,” he said. “There was a lot of concern there were a lot of sex offenders out there preying on children. We now have more than 85,000 people on the registry. And the reality is we have probably only four- to five-thousand dangerous sex offenders and a whole lot of other folks who were drunk or stupid or misguided who are very unlikely to commit future sex crimes.”

With a huge registry, “you’re creating a very large legal forest for the 5,000 (high-risk offenders) to hide in,” Allen said. “A list where 90 percent won’t commit another crime is not very useful to the public.”
Eric's not wrong that policymakers zeal for fixing the situation has not matched the magnitude of the problem:
Despite the high costs and marginal returns, there has been little appetite from politicians or even criminal justice reformers to fix the system. In recent years, politically conservative advocacy organizations such as the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Effective Justice have successfully pushed states to use evidence-based research to limit costly practices that do little to preserve public safety. But a spokesman for the influential Austin think tank said it had no plans to tackle sex offender registry reform.
OTOH, he failed to mention our friends at Texas Voices, made up primarily of family members of registrants, who have built up a credible presence at the capitol and are increasingly the central group there pushing for reform. They're not a powerhouse like TPPF, but they're excellent messengers for confronting an unforgiving media narrative. And their addition to the conversation has been the brightest ray of hope on a topic which heretofore enjoyed only few and temporary champions. Texas Voices is beginning to get more serious and, in the long haul, I wouldn't bet against them and their indefatigable leader, Mary Sue Molnar.

27 comments:

Unknown said...

The conditions for probation and parole,which include that annual registration and sometimes monthy reporting (which has to be done in person) is ironclad. Mixed in with numerous other conditions including reporting a move no sooner than 7days before, and reporting to a new office within 7 days after the move. Then there is actually an even tougher one that restricts a convicted offender from going closer than 1,000 feet from a school, park, or other place where children are likely to gather, including living within that forbidden area. Recently, cities and even small towns have been enacting even more restrictive ordinances extending the prohibited area up to 2,000 feet or more from any school, park, etc. The ordinances just make violations misdemeanors punishable by a $500 per day fine. Forgetting. a mandatory state condition like the annual registration, is a felony subject to an up to 10 years imprisonment! Some ordinances result in virtual banishment from a town. TEXAS VOICES is challenging these ordinances in court. They are so not necessary. But I assume city mayors and city councils make a lot of political hay out of acting like they are protecting children. And the public doesn't know the ordinances are largely duplicative and largely unnecessary. These are the Texas Undead, living in purgatory with no hope. Many have lost their families, most are una le to find jobs. MAny are homeless and without transportation which area. Makes it hard to get to the police e station to register.

Recently we had a case where a homeless man no ed from a shelter for homeless a few blocks away to live in a cardboard box under a bridge. Forgot to report before and after his big move. For that violation be gets to serve 10 years. Yea for Texas Voices challenging these ordinances.

SOFAQ said...

You are unreal dude! It takes a Texan to do work like this. I admire you immensely! You are a hero for sure. You should be getting paid to do your blog. Every time I read from it, and that's allot; it seems near perfect.

Anonymous said...

I posted [El Profe] on a Statesman’s article a couple of days ago: How a Plano Legislator’s Remarks Bred Strict Sex Offender Laws
I noted that the overwhelming number of postings were against the draconian nature of the Registries.
I believe there is a growing trend of the public and of a few public officials to recognize the fact that the registries do not work. Empirical data from peer-reviewed sources demonstrate that Registries don’t protect children and they influence recidivism among SOs by driving them away from family, from a home, from a job. The factors forbidden to the SO are the very facets of life contributing to successful integration back into a society by an individual who is statistically unlikely to reoffend.
Studies have shown empirically that recidivism rates among SOs are lower than another group of offenders except for murderers.
Yet the myth and misconception of the stranger lurking behind a bush or at a park persists.
The article stated:
In 1997 then State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano stated without citing any evidence that: “Sex offenders are a very unique type of criminal. I like to say they have three very unique characteristics: They are the least likely to be cured; they are the most likely to reoffend; and they prey on the most innocent members of our society.”
In 1998 her subjective assessment was included in the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics with a disclaimer that: “Contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Bureau of Justice Statistics or the U.S. Department of Justice.”
In 2002, Ted Olsen, then the Solicitor General of the US, briefed SCOTUS supporting a case involving SO Registries stating: “Sex offenders exact a uniquely severe and unremitting toll on the Nation and its citizens for three basic reasons: ‘They are the least likely to be cured, they are the most likely to reoffend and they prey on the most innocent members of our society.’” He cites the “United States Dep’t of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics paper.”
In March 2003, Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy . . . argues that “such public lists [Registries] are reasonable measures to protect the public because of “grave concerns over the high rate of recidivism among convicted sex offenders and their dangerousness as a class.”
The myth became reality.
Most individuals today believe the myths and many public officials do not want to oppose the myth or refuse to believe facts demonstrating this is a myth. Instead, public officials often support “feel-good, one-size-fits-all legislation” that is touted by myth to “protect our children” without regard to studies and data that show otherwise. It is considered “Tough on Crime” and , anyway, who will listen to those marginalized individuals and their families who are affected by this political posturing.
It will require soul searching and a commitment by many to finally do the right thing to reverse the onerous cloak over non-violent offenders whose lives are ruined by the Registry in Texas. I would hope there comes a day, when like Joseph Welch said to Senator Joe McCarthy that we would say to the lawmakers in defense of our marginalized citizens and loved ones: “You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”
I am pleased to say I have met with my US Congressman, who had the courage to listen to empirical facts concerning SO and SO recidivism. I am meeting with my State Senator this week for the same purpose. I have yet to hear from my State Representative for my request for a meeting. I will continue asking to meet with him.
Maybe the reaction from the Political Side is a burgeoning movement to right a wrong. Or mainly it is a realization that at current rates of increasing numbers of SOs in Texas, the roughly 87,000 registrants will double every seven [7] years. Along with increase in registrants, there will be a corresponding increase in administrative costs. The dollars may speak louder than facts.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for getting the message out there; this is such an emotional issue and the general public has believed the fear tactics that ALL registered citizens are monsters behind every bush just waiting to attack. Families that have had this issues touch their lives know better and are starting to get the word out! Do the research, know the facts; the laws don't work and the laws are continual punishment. No one is safer because of the laws.
Contact your legislators and let them know that residency restrictions do not work. With a legislative session just around the corner let us pray that those that vote on the laws are informed with the true facts and vote with their brains and not emotions. Thank you Scott, Mary Sue and TXVoices.

Anonymous said...

Great article! Excellent work, as always. Thank you for shining light on this topic.

Anonymous said...

I am deeply afraid that until either the public is convinced that the registration system is deeply flawed and broken, then this will never get fixed.

We seemed to have lost the politician that will stand up and do the right thing, even if what is not popular.... we now have a group of politicians that seem to be true cowards and seem to only care about the latest poll tells them they should care about

Almost every politician in the Texas legislature has received solid proof that the sex offender registry is not only ineffective is preventing new crimes, but the barriers that it creates to successful re-entry actually promotes recidivism

However, several legislatures have lost their seats for even thinking about taking one this third rail of public opinion....

Perhaps when someone does a comprehensive look at the cost of registration system over the entire state then the legislatures how much money is spent actually harming their constituents, then perhaps they might be able to take on public opinion

The mass media is a wasteland of myths, fear, and sensationalism that is only interested in selling their wares -- it seems to me that the art of journalism, the search for the real truth, even in the face of the false narrative that is popular has been extinct for some time

There seem to be only a few beacons of light, seeking the real facts, and that have the courage to publish them and stand up the harassment of misinformation from the ignorant masses.

I celebrate Texas Voices

I celebrate the academic scholars willing to take a look at this unpopular subject

I celebrate Lisa Ling for our courage and compassionate looks at the system

Change will only occur when enough of the public demand that change... or until some of the members of the legislature visit the Wizard and obtain some courage....

I am not holding my breath

But keep up the good fight... and miracles occasional happen

Unknown said...
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George said...

I agree 100% with all of the above comments concerning the shameful registration and other laws that are in effect here in Texas and across the nation as well. All of us have been conditioned for so long by the constant media propaganda and political spouting to be fearful of everything and everyone around us. We all need to grow some balls, sorry ladies, and investigate things for ourselves and hold what is generally accepted as truths suspect to some degree.

The whole approach that our government has taken when it comes to dealing with American citizens who have been convicted of a sex crime is misguided and wrong. A sex crime is a crime like any other serious crime - it's wrong, it adversely affects so many lives and it should be punished like any other serious crime such as murder, armed robbery, battery, physical and mental child abuse etc.. The results of all crimes are terrible and none of them should ever be committed.

The fact is though that crimes, serious crimes, do take place and will continue to take place. The difference with all of this is how sex crimes, in particular, are dealt with. Campaigns have been launched that have targeted how people feel about sex crimes and up to now have been successful. No other crime has been ruled by the US Supreme Court as being eligible for a new law's retroactive application other than sex offenses (They ruled that the sex offender registry is not punishment, yeah tell that to a registrant or close family member who deal with this madness on a daily basis). Even though these laws were only enacted in the mid 1990's, the application of these laws were retroactively applied to citizens convicted as far back as 1970. That's not fair, it's unconstitutional and needs to be changed.

This an example of flat out discrimination against a select group of American citizens, citizens who pay taxes and contribute to our society. These are fathers/mothers, brothers/sisters, sons/daughters, aunts/uncles, cousins and grandparents -- people just like you and I. For many, libraries & parks, to name a couple, are off limits even though these citizens' taxes go to support them.

And please, don't start on this "protecting children" crap. Where are your concerns when it comes to the innocent children of registrants and how all of these laws affect them? Suddenly your silence concerning them is deafening and exposes you for what you really stand for -- your self-serving narcissistic elitism. What you really care about is yourselves and how your actions appear to those around you.

As I've stated before, what harm would there be in taking an individual approach to all of this madness? There are risk assessment tools presently being used by the probation and parole departments, tools based on hard and fast empirical evidence that would give a very good starting point as far as helping determine what risk an individual poses. This one-size-fits-all policy is pure madness and is not indicative of a compassionate and just state/nation.

Finally, here's a shout out to all people who believe in a higher-power, who believe in redemption and forgiveness, who believe in showing compassion to those less fortunate and in genuine need of a helping hand. Who among us are without sin? Who among us, but for the grace of God, would not find ourselves on this registry? Who among us have the courage to look for the good in the lives of people instead of listening to the worn-out hype that has gone on for much too long?

A new legislative session will crank back up in 2017 and I encourage all decent and just people to contact groups such as Texas Voices and RSOL and find ways to contact your legislators and voice your concerns about all of this.

willB said...

the one thing that seems to be left out of all these discussions is the actual dangerousness of people on the registry of course there are studies out there showing re-offense rates mostly below 10% but all those studies are looking at specific groups of people coming out of prison or out of treatment programs they are not looking at the registry as a whole and what the re-offense rate for that group is two studies have been done looking at the registry as a whole one in Nebraska and one in Ohio both of those studies came up with the re-offense rate of less than 1% there is also the thing that everybody is dancing around avoiding looking at and that is the percentage of registered citizens that are actually involved in new sex crimes that number too is less than 1% there have been a number of articles and placed on SOSEN.org since 2013 that have addressed this issue perhaps it is time for an article in Texas to address the actual re-offense rate of the people on the Texas registry.

He's Innocent said...

@WillB has a point. There are very few studies done directly on those on the registry as a whole. I would also like to see more of those done. However, let's NOT include subsequent convictions for failure to register in the recidivism "rate". Why?? It proves they are dangerous, yes? No, it doesn't. The rules of the registry can be so easily broken. Too long in one city you are visiting, got kicked out of the house and could not notify PD 7 days beforehand. See, the public's perception of anything labeled a sex crime is that 'the pervert went out and touched/raped a child again!' When in fact, the crime is one of not fully understanding the registry's restrictions - all administrative.

The public simply does not understand that a registrant can rack up another felony for failure to follow the rules to the letter. One PD will consider day 7 as too late when you are notifying of a new address. Another PD will not. All very fluid and dependent upon the attitude of the local PD concerning 'those perverts'.

So if studies will focus on those already on the registry, and those who go on to commit another sexual offense that actually touches someone or traffics pictures, I'd be willing to bet that the re-offense rate would be just about ZERO.

Those who ARE re-offending will stick out like a sore thumb. Leave THEM on the public registry, move everyone else to a law enforcement only registry.

Leave those of us who are trying to rebuild a life alone. The conviction is bad enough when it comes to housing, employment, and even consumer loans.

Anonymous said...


Where are the treatment providers in all this? We who are actively working towards reforming the registry known darn well that sex offender treatment providers all support less people on the registry.

So..... treatment providers, where is your voice in all this? Why aren't any of you commenting on here? Even anonymously? You all are a big enough group that a comment can be written so as not to identify yourselves.

Texas legislators must be informed that treatment providers all disagree with residency restrictions for most registered citizens!

Heck, they all stand to make a very high pile of money once deregistration is made simpler.

So, again, where are all of you at? Dr. Farrar? Where is your voice here?

Anonymous said...

This hysteria needs to stop. Doesn't anyone have any common sense anymore. All sex offenders are not pedophiles, a fact no one seems to know. The ridiculous thing that avoiding schools, parks, or anywhere children gather causes them to drive through neighborhoods where children are playing in their yards. How does this protect my child? how does this law protect me from rape or sexual assualt? My point is that it protects no one. There are also people not convicted of a sex crime that have to abide by these same rules. Thatb is probably unconstitutional. The sex offender caseload should apply only to sex offenders. Our legislators should take a hard look at the facts and get a backbone and make changes to this law. I would also wonder how a murderer can do his time and get out free and clear but not a sex offender. Weird huh?

Anonymous said...

There also needs to be a change to certain laws to stop some offenses from being considered "registerable". Should a teenager who streaks at a game be required to register as a sex offender? I don't believe so. Should teenager who have consensual sex be charged with felonies, imprisoned and made to register for life. Absolutely not. Instead of continuing to add lesser offenses to this horrible list, lets start thinking reasonable about this and stop the hysteria.

Anonymous said...

Why are there not lists for:

-- drunk drivers
-- property crimes
-- drug dealers
-- mentally ill, well, those who often go off their meds and cause lots of 911 calls

All of the above are much more likely to end right back in the system.

The property crimes and drug dealers - often they do not have skills that will afford them to eat or support their families. They will likely go back to it.

The drunk drivers - well I'd much rather know that the dude who habitually drives drunk lives up the street. This would be the same street I am on all the time, my children playing in the yard next to that street. He/she could be drunk and easily drive up into my yard and mow us all down.

The mentally ill - well, this is what happens when there is just about zero availability of mental health in the community. Heck, many of them are no longer taking health insurance if you are lucky to have such coverage. The mentally ill are just screwed.

My point..... all of the above are much more likely to re-offend than registered citizens. Where are the lists for them?

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT support such lists. I support the complete overhaul of SO laws and the registry. There is no due process in residency restrictions, and if only the public knew what it really meant to be convicted of a sex crime, I like to think they would all be appalled.

Unknown said...
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S.O. said...

"Program to corral ballooning sex offender registry failing" (July 14), focuses on the state's failure to cull the sex-offender registry of low-risk people.

When I went to the local police department for my annual registration, the policeman in charge told me that I am eligible to get off the sex offender registry. So yes, the powers that be want to cull the sex offender registry. But it is not likely that I will soon be one of those off the sex offender registry.

Currently, those who want to de-register have to go before a judge. Most judges are reluctant to approve a de-registration. A judge doesn't want to be the one who approved a de-registration for someone who subsequently re-offends. Until the Leg changes de-registration to be an administrative process, instead of a judicial process, there will be very few instances of de-registration.

A second reason for my not leaving the sex offender registry very soon, in spite of being eligible, is the cost. The Statesman article mentions someone spending $27,500 to get off the registry. I know someone who so far has spent $20,000 in his attempt to get off the registry.

At this stage, getting off the registry would mean two things for me. 1)I wouldn't have to renew my driver's license every year. As sex offenders have to register at least annually at the local police department, the requirement for annual renewal of a driver's license is redundant and absurd. In the last 30 years I have had two addresses. 2) I would travel more. As the current legal requirements for travel and registration for sex offenders are Kafkaesque, I travel very little.

Anonymous said...

Donnie Miller...please dude...your story reeks of being a victim of your own stupidity. So a stripper got you drunk and took advantage of you? You need to just man up and accept the fact the you did in fact commit a sex offense and that as part of your adjudication your were required to register as a sex offender. Not all weirdos and perverts are attracted to underage children.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I'm a registered individual that had been on probation 10 years, pass all polygraphs every 6 months for 10 years and I have been off probation now for over 2 years. Yes I have a family, children..etc. I totally agree with this article. I'm considered low risk and the sad thing is when you get off probation and you tell your employer the what, when, and how they are dumbfounded on why there is an extension of 10+ years on the registry when your probation is finished for a low risk offender. Further more the article goes into a small pool of offenders that are high risk and "hide behind" the rest that are on the list. This is true in some instances. But if you have a good counselor usually he/she can pick them out of the crowd and they will notify the correct departments to watch these individuals. People don't understand how the actual system works and yes its underfunded, underdeveloped, backwards at times on the thinking and I could go on and on but I digress.

I can contest that the process of trying to get off the registry is as easy to apply for. Its the process behind it that takes FOREVER to get back to you because of the antiquated system that we are dealing with.

If you didn't know there is a private list of mentally ill, Drunk Drivers, any type of arrests its just that the SO registry is the only one that is publicly shown.

Lastly, I will leave you with this... I can contest that therapy, counselling, and years of polygraphs have made my life a cleaner one and one that I now have objectives to achieve even with the "scarlet letter". What truly needs to be focused on is the following:
Better local rules(what probation makes us as a can and can't do while on probation this changes as the wind blows)
Better Understanding of the vocabulary on sex offending (difference between pedophilia , molestation...etc)
Better understanding that family is the key to keeping you going. (Probation doesn't focus enough on this)
I could keep going but wont.

To all those that are reading this and on probation and in counselling don't stop keep going. Keep your head up. I'm proof that the system works. Yes its hard, yes its over bearing at times but if you can get through it and learn, you will be a better person for it.


Anonymous said...

Wow the last comment poster is so lame and obviously brainwashed by the system! The fact of the matter isn't if probation and therapy works to reduce sex crimes, but rather the continued punishment of being listed on a public registry and forced to continue compliance of rules that should no longer apply after an individual has completed their requirements of parole/probation.

It is also very clear that he or she feels like they are above the rest of us and their crime was somehow less than others? I'm sure we all feel that way and I can tell you for a fact the circumstances surrounding the crying I was accused of was about anything but sexual assault, but won't bore you with the details.

The fact of the matter is I was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person and except my punishment. I have completed all aspects of my probation and even had a judge dismissed my case But still find myself on the registry because it's not considered additional punishment?

Anonymous said...

^^^^^^ to the guy above.... Not brainwashed at the least.

I'm totally in agreement on not having any further punishment beyond the probation being finished. (thumbs up) I'm have gone through the process of trying to get off and since you have to go back to the county judge and prosecutor that charged you in the first place its extremely hard for them to agree to something that gets you off a list that is publicly shown. Why, you might be asking ... because of the politics behind it, not getting reelected because this judge let X amount of offenders off the list...etc ...etc.

Yeah and I was in the wrong place and the wrong time too... its the norm for everyone on probation! HA!

I didn't go into my offense because yes, I to am in the same boat as you. Oddly enough judge wanted to dismiss but the county prosecutor didn't and I'm on the registry/probation for 10 years because the powers that be said we have to punish you for something since we arrested you. (county prosecutor words)

The system from the beginning I think, you can agree, is broken from court to dismissal from probation and there after. Everyone that is reading this today that has a family member or loved one that is on the list knows that issues that come with it. Its something that the article touches on having put out a wide net in the 90's and not have any kind of forward thinking on how big this system is getting in just 10 years let alone 5.


Nick C. of Texas said...

Come on Guys and Gals, quit bickering and arguing among yourselves about who is the lesser evil. In the public's eye we are all equally evil. There cannot be a public registry for anyone. As long as a Politician has the political leverage of being tough on sex offenders that list will continue to grow. How can we continue to ostracize a group within ourselves and expect to better our own situations? A crime is a crime just as a sin is a sin. All are just as equally bad and damaging to the person or persons involved. I had sex with a sixteen year old girl when I was 18. You know what, I broke the law just the same as a guy in my prison counseling group who raped 12 children before he was 11 years old. We committed on crimes, paid our dues to the State (or Nation which ever the case may be), and that needs to be the end of it period. No amount of monitoring or any other registration is going to stop some one from committing a crime. That is the message we need to be championing for. Also we need to focus on educating our children and other family members and friends how to keep from becoming victims of crime and how to keep from becoming criminals. That's where the true reform lies. Stopping individuals from becoming criminals in the first place. However, until we as group become truly united and take a stand one for all and all for one, nothing substantial will ever be accomplished. I understand the grave task ahead is not an easy one. One step at a time is a necessity, but we must not loose sight of the ultimate goal, removal of any and all registration laws!!
One last little rant... QUIT all the anonymity!! We urge and demand courage and bravery from our legislators all the while we our selves hide behind the shelter of the SO group. There has to be names and faces with the stories to affect anyone. It is much easier to brush off a "fictionally sob story," than an actual person! Just some food for thought.

Anonymous said...

Nick C. please shut up! Nobody newas or wants to be told what to do another day, especially by you.

You think this little back and forthave is canabalizing each other? Not even close! Write your sex offender book and attend yur conference already!
There is little unity amongst us offenders yet alone this country!

Nick C. of Texas said...

And so the saga continues..
You don't even the courage to put a name with your cry baby post? And we wonder why we can't get anything done. Maybe you just want a reason for people to feel sorry for you!! Get real or get lost!!

George said...

@anonymous 10:32, you're the one that needs to shut up and try to understand . I'm in total agreement with Nick C.

It's people such as yourself that perpetuates the stigma that registered citizens have to contend with on a daily basis.

Your type of approach is so easily read. You muddy the water for others so you can stay clean, or so you think.

Blogs such as GFB provide a platform for meaningful discussions about criminal justice issues here in Texas and across the nation. What Nick is stating is that devisive and disparaging remarks do very little to educate others about the plight of all registered citizens, evidently yourself included.

This is a struggle against one of the most draconian examples of discrimination that our nation has ever seen, and this nation has seen and propagated more than it's share. Open your eyes and ears, open your heart and examine this issue without malice or preconceived ideas - that's the only way truth is really ever discovered.

Anonymous said...

And you George are so easy to bait in. It appears I found the root of your troubles. It's anger management and transgression. Work on that and the power and control you sought by committing a sexual assault will be less likely to reoccur!
I can do this all day how about you? The more you reply to me the more this thread so valuable to you and your kind gets hijacked!
Please continue!

George said...

@anonymous 10:08,

Baited? You're a fool of the highest order if you think that. What I'm doing is exposing you for the self-serving, psychopathic personality that you are.

As I stated before, this blog is here for meaningful dialogue concerning criminal justice issues, all you're looking for, it seems, is to engage in childish behavior.

Grow up and then perhaps we can carry on a conversation that is of benefit. Instead of attempting to set traps and offering meaningless banter, you could use the time you have here on earth for something much more fulfilling. Something tells me we're all wasting our to point out your blatant faults.