RSOL of Virginia
Reform Sex Offender Laws
Seeking Justice and Safety for all Virginians

The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the
silence over that by the good people -Martin Luther King Jr.

 

 

 

 

 
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This Page was last updated Sunday, July 18, 2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learn the Facts and Statistics with Current Reports, Studies and Books:

A list of Reports, Studies and Books that conclude the proliferation of “Sex Offender” Legislation over the past 20 years in America that was meant to memorialize an assaulted, murdered or missing child has largely failed.

The Residency Restrictions, GPS Monitoring, stigmatizing and publically posting Juveniles and first time offenders has NOT, reduced Sex Offender recidivism rates, provided safety, healing or support for victims, reflected the scientific research on sexual victimization, offending and risk or provided successful strategies for prevention. These reports and books also confirm the real recidivism rates for sexual assaults are 3.5-5.5%, NOT the 70, 80, 90 and 100% that State and Federal Politicians and the media continue to claim.

 

Books:

  • Sex Offender Laws: Failed Polices, New Directions, by Dr. Richard Wright 2009
  • The Modern Day Leper, by Dick Witherow 2009
  • Knowledge as Power: Criminal Registration and Community Notification Laws in America, by Wayne Logan 2009
  • Failure to Protect: America's Sexual Predator Laws and the Rise of the Preventive State by Eric S. Janus 2009
  • Moral Panic: Changing Concepts of the Child Molester in Modern America, by Philip Jenkins 2004
  • Reconsidering Sex Crimes and Offenders: Prosecution or Persecution?, by Laura J. Zilney and Lisa A. Zilney 2009
  • Perverts and Predators: The Making of Sexual Offending Laws,  by Laura J. Zilney 2009
  • Anatomy of the McMartin Child Molestation Case, by Edgar W. Butler 2001
  • It's Okay We're Only Sex Offenders, by Alan Rigby 2008
  • Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor by Angela J. DavisApril 2009
  • The Tyranny of Good Intentions: How Prosecutors and Law Enforcement Are Trampling the Constitution in the Name of Justice by Paul Craig Roberts March 2008
  • Go Directly to Jail: The Criminalization of Almost Everything by Gene Healy November 2004
  • Ordinary Injustice: How America Holds Court by Amy Bach September 2009 
  • Three Felonies a Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent by Harvey A. Silverglate September 2009
  • The Politics of Injustice: Crime and Punishment in America by Dr. Katherine A. Beckett and Theodore Sasson 2003
  • Beyond Vengeance, Beyond Duality by Sylvia Clute, May 2010
    After several years as a trial lawyer, Sylvia Clute became disillusioned with the legal system and began her search for a better way. She founded, led, and served as an advisor to numerous community and statewide initiatives. This is her first work of nonfiction. She is also the President of Restorative Justice Association of Virginia.  www.sylviaclute.com

DVD’s:

Reports & Studies:

  • Prospective Actuarial Risk Assessment: A Comparison of Five Risk Assessment Instruments in Different Sexual Offender Subtypes, by Martin Rettenberger, Anna Matthes, Douglas P. Boer and Reinhard Eher, March 2010
    http://ijo.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/54/2/169
  • Revising the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act: Our Best Hope for Dealing with Sex-Abuse Hysteria in the United States, Richard A. Gardner, 1993
    The 1974 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act has had unforeseen negative consequences in terms of encouraging false allegations of sex abuse. In order to receive federal funding, states had to pass legislation that mandated specific persons to report suspected cases of child abuse and granted immunity to the reporters.
    http://www.ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume5/j5_1_3.htm
  • The Ethics of American Youth – Josephson Institute - 2008 Summary
    Survey of Teens Reveals Entrenched Habits of Dishonesty, Stealing, Lying, and Cheating Rates Climb to Alarming Rates:
    http://charactercounts.org/programs/reportcard/index.html
    (But yet just an accusation from a teen is sufficient for a conviction, time in prison, loss of employment, loss of home, loss of family and a lifetime of being stigmatized as a Sex Offender)
  • How Safe Are Trick-or-Treaters? An Analysis of Child Sex Crime Rates on Halloween. by Mark Chaffin, Jill Levenson, Elizabeth Letourneau, and Paul Stern, July 6, 2009:   
    How Safe are Trick or Treaters.pdf
  • Sex Offender Registration and Notification: Limited Effects in New Jerseyby Kristen M. Zgoba and Karen Bachar, National Institute of Justice, April 2009  
    www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/225402.pdf
  • Do Sex Offender Registration and Notification Laws Affect Criminal Behavior? by J.J. Prescott and Jonah E. Rockoff, February 2008 
    http://ssrn.com/abstract=1100584
  • The Vilification of Sex Offenders: Do Laws Targeting Sex Offenders Increase Recidivism and Sexual Violence? by Hollida Wakefield Institute for Psychological Therapies 2006
    http://ccoso.org/Vilification.pdf
  • Making Outcasts out of Outlaws: The Unconstitutionality of Sex Offender Registration and Criminal Alien Detention Source:
    Harvard Law Review Association, Vol. 117, No. 8 June 2004
    Making Outcasts out of Outlaws
  • Never Going Home: Does it Make Us Safer? Does it Make Sense? Sex Offenders Residency Restrictions and Reforming Risk Management Law
    By Caleb Durling - The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol. 97, No. 1
    Fall 2006
    Never Going Home: Does it Make Us Safer?
  • Profiling Online Sex Offenders, Cyber-Predators and Pedophiles, By Dr. Kimberly Young, The Center for Internet Addiction Recovery 2005
    Profiling Online Sex Offenders
  • Fact Sheet on The Obama Administration’s 2011 Budget: More Policing, Prisons, and Punitive Policies, Justice Policy Institute February 2010           
    Byrne Justice Assistance Grants:     JPI found that while the $500+ million proposed for this program can be used for prevention and education, in reality most money goes to law enforcement. Research has shown that increased law enforcement results in the least-effective solution-higher drug imprisonment rates-while this money could be more effectively spent on community drug treatment.
    Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Funding: The Administration is requesting $600 million in hiring and retention grants for police officers, purportedly anticipating a rise in crime as the economy recovers. Such increased policing is likely to have a concentrated impact on communities of color, who are already disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system. JPI suggests this money would be better spent on creating jobs, housing, and treatment programs for increased public safety.
    Adam Walsh Act: Having failed to bully states with threats of funding cuts if they fail to comply with the Adam Walsh Act, the federal government is adding a "carrot" to the "stick": $20 million to help states implement the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). A number of reports have found little correlation between the use of sex offender registries and keeping children safe. In addition, broad compliance with SORNA will increase the number of people who cannot meet their basic needs (housing, employment), which is a major risk factor for recidivism. Especially hard-hit are youth on registries that may be barred from pro-social activities that can have a positive impact on improving their lives and on public safety.
    Increased Funding for Prisons:Increased funding for prison beds will likely lead to higher prison populations and expenses without significantly improving public safety. In fact, most states are reducing prison populations due to the current economic crisis and are seeking more effective solutions.
    http://www.justicepolicy.org/content-hmID=1811&smID=1581&ssmID=87.htm
RSOL of Virginia strives to provide accurate and current information to the citizens of Virginia.
We do not claim to be a legal resource. Always consult with an Attorney and the Virginia State Police (804) 674-2825 where needed.
We at RSOL of Virginia do not in any way condone the sexual abuse of anyone in anyway, shape, or form.
We support appropriate punishment and treatment for offenders based on their individual case.       
We support the reform of many of the statutes that currently require registration, that an accusation alone is sufficient to convict, prosecution for “Sexting” between teens and young adults, prison time and the requirement to register for consensual acts between teens and young adults, the retroactive approach to applying new laws, the increases in offender classifications by Legislators, the harsher compliancy penalties than the original conviction, the total computer and internet banishment for those whose crimes were not computer related and all residency restrictions.
We support reform of the sex offender registries so that the public can be aware of the presence of truly dangerous, untreatable and repeat offenders while allowing the majority of offenders to re-enter society and become productive citizens that can secure housing, employment, participate in their families lives and live without fear of community threats or retaliation.
The RSOL of Virginia is an independent group as of December 2009. When we originally formed in October 2008, we were the state affiliate for Reform Sex Offender Laws.org
Unfortunately we had to make the difficult decision to break away from National RSOL due to differences in opinion. We wish RSOL National and all their state affiliates well in this very important cause, to REFORM Americas Sex Offender Registries.