Gov. Jay Nixon today joined local law enforcement officials at the Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center in Farmington to discuss the importance of sustaining his veto of House Bill 301, which would remove hundreds of sex offenders from public sex offender websites. The Governor vetoed House Bill 301 in July citing concerns it would weaken public safety and victims' rights by weakening state laws regarding sexual offenders. Recently, leadership in the Missouri House of Representatives has expressed their desire to override the Governor's veto of House Bill 301.
"By erasing the names of hundreds of criminals from sex offender websites and law enforcement registries, without regard to the seriousness of their offense, House Bill 301 would weaken public safety and ignore victims' rights," Gov. Nixon said. "House Bill 301would also deny local prosecutors and victims of these atrocious crimes the opportunity to have their voices heard before an offender is removed. The leadership of the House may be ready to help violent sex offenders hide from the public and law enforcement, but their victims, and the millions of Missourians who use these websites to help keep their families safe, are not."
If the Governor's veto is overridden, House Bill 301 would remove an estimated 870 individuals who committed a sex offense as a juvenile (under 18) from the state and county sexual offender notification websites, and prevent any such individual from being placed on these websites in the future. This legislation would remove these juvenile sex offenders from the public notification websites regardless of the sexual offense for which they were convicted, including forcible rape, forcible sodomy, and child molestation.
Additionally, House Bill 301 would allow sex offenders who were convicted when they were juveniles to petition a court for their removal from the state sexual offender registry after only five years from being found guilty or completing their prison sentence.
Even if the offender had multiple victims and multiple convictions, the court would be required to grant the petition so long as the offender was not currently under supervision or was adjudicated for failure to register and without being able to consider if the offender successfully completed any court required treatment. House Bill 301 would also prevent the victims of the crime or their families from having any input into the offender's removal from the registry.
"I do not believe that supporters of this legislation meant for its ramifications to go this far. That's why after a careful review of this legislation in its entirety, I clearly communicated my concerns to the legislature last month in my veto message," Gov. Nixon said. "Now that lawmakers have a full understanding of the seriousness of House Bill 301, they cannot in good conscience vote for it again. We owe it to the crime victims and their families to ensure this dangerous bill does not become law."
Read the Governor's veto message on House Bill 301 here.
2 comments:
The St Louis Dispatch does NOT support the Governor's statements in regards to supporting his decision to veto. He has made many untrue statements about juvenile sex offenders and sex offenders in general. Their editorial is worth reading: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/editorial-political-courage-needed-to-reform-missouri-s-sex-offender/article_84e5d1c5-b340-5204-a427-87509d7f8a70.html
This is all about money. Our Governor and some in the legislative body are chasing the "almighty buck" at the expense of those who committed an offense at a young age, are not the same person; have not re-offended. One needs to consider this, if the overzealous laws of today were the laws of yesterday would our faces be enlarged and displayed on an easel by the governor at his press conferences? I can feel some folks wincing.
As a requirement of the Adam Walsh Act our state has gone back and put folks on the public registry...ex post facto, adj. Latin for "after the fact," which refers to laws adopted after an act is committed making it illegal although it was legal when done, or increases the penalty for a crime after it is committed. Some folks are now on the Missouri public registry for an offense 20 years ago, are losing their jobs, families and friends. Is punitive punishment really what your educated constituents want? The mission of our organization, Women Against Registry, is to educate every citizen of Missouri and the United States about the true danger of sexual offenses as well as the low recidivism rate for registrants. (http://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/10-10_fac_jagspendingreports_ps-ac.pdf)
So, tell your legislators "it is time for voices of reason" and that $5,000,000 a year for a program that has no documented proof that it is of any value merely to save the 10% Byrne Fund Grant money (dangling carrot of Justice Department) of $418,230 is ludicrous!
(http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/08-08_FAC_SORNACosts_JJ.pdf)
(http://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/walsh_act.pdf))
We would do anything to help victims outside the support system they already have available to them. Let me be clear about that but not at the expense of our families.
HB301 is "ripe for override!" What say you readers and constituents???
Vicki Henry
Women Against Registry dot com
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