The Florida ACLU has acted. FINALLY.
I hold in my hand a three page letter that may mark the beginning of ending the madness.
The ACLU of Greater Miami and the ACLU of Florida has united to formally request Florida Governor Charlie Crist "...convene a task force of experts and lawmakers to respond to the public safety and housing crisis that the patchwork of residency restrictions for persons convicted of sexual offenses has created across the state of Florida."
Citing the "makeshift village of individuals who are now living under the bridge of the Julia Tuttle Causeway, and the inability of governmental agencies such as the Department of Corrections to continue to track some persons who are still under supervision...as well as those who have completed their supervision...such situations have the potential to compromise public safety and will not resolve themselves without your intervention."
As has been so documented in this blog countless times, residence restrictions are ineffective at protecting the community. Yet, "these laws have proliferated across the state in recent years. (...) Research from the Minnesota Department of Corrections found that not one of 224 recidivistic sex offenses would have been prevented by residence restrictions." (Residential proximity and sex offense recidivism in Minnesota. 2007.)
"According to the U.S. Department of Justice, approximately 93% of sexually abused children are molested by family members, close friends or acquaintances." (Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2000.)
The requested task force would include representatives from law enforcement, probation, experts in treatment and management of persons convicted of sex offenses, victim advocates, and civil-rights advocates.
The ACLU urges Charlie Crist via written communication to take action where the Legislature has failed, underscoring this situation is "not a crisis that can wait for the 2009 legislative session."
Also signing off on the June 2, 2008 letter to the Governor: Public Defenders of the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida; Miami Coalition for the Homeless; Florida Council Against Sexual Violence; Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers-Miami Chapter; Florida Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers; Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Council of Greater Miami; Jill Levenson, Ph.D, LCSW, Lynn University.
Copies have been forwarded to the following: Walter Mitchell, Florida Department of Corrections; Carlos Alvarez, Mayor, Miami-Dade County; Manuel Diaz, Mayor, City of Miami; Matti Bower, Mayor, City of Miami Beach.
And never forget. Many persons subject to these same laws have never physically laid a hand on anyone. But the Florida Legislature--in company with state legislatures many across this country with the blessings of the federal government--have led you ALL to believe that everyone deemed a sex offender is a child molester.
A copy of this letter can be made available to the press.
Feel free to contact Sunny/Smashed Frog via my email. Please write "ACLU" in the subject line.
It's time to put "human" back in "human rights".
