UPCOMING EVENTS

• May 15, 2025 – Last Day to Sign Up for the NARSOL Conference at the Early Bird Rate (Sign Up Here)
• May 21, 2025 – Partner Webinar: Balancing Hope, Joy, and Challenge – Navigating Life on the Registry (Sign Up Here)
• June 5, 2025 – Last Day to Apply for Financial Aid for the NARSOL Conference (Academic & Need Based) (Apply here)
• June 5, 2025 – Last Day to Book Lodging for the NARSOL Conference at Discounted Rates (Book Here)
• June 26-29, 2025 – NARSOL Conference 2025 in Grand Rapids, Michigan (Sign Up Here)

Help send advocates with financial need to the NARSOL Conference!
As you know, individuals affected by the registry are often economically disadvantaged due to limited employment opportunities, fewer housing options, and additional expenses related to treatment, registration fees, and supervision. If you can make a charitable donation to the NARSOL Foundation in support of individuals with financial need who want to attend the Grand Rapids conference, please visit this link to help.

The post Conference–and other–updates first appeared on NARSOL.

Advocates from across the nation will once again go to Washington, D.C. in early March this year for a one-day conference and a commemorative vigil held near the steps of the Supreme Court Building.

Get information, save the date, and get sign-up options here.

The post Participate in the D.C. vigil March 2 and 3 first appeared on NARSOL.

NARSOL is proud to announce its officers for 2025 and the new board member who have joined its ranks.

Organizational officers are Brenda Jones as executive director, Robin Vanderwall as board chair, and Paul Shannon as board vice-chair. Sandy Rozek is secretary, and Philip Kaso has the position of treasurer.

Last year, when NARSOL announced the opening for applications for board members, among those who applied were three who each possessed skills and abilities the board was seeking. They were each uniquely qualified to hold the position of a NARSOL board member, and, as none of the current board were resigning, we voted unanimously to extend our number to twelve and seat all three of these outstanding candidates.

Amanda ******, like a significant number of other board member, brings the first-hand experience of having been incarcerated. Even during her 18 years of imprisonment, Amanda focused on personal growth and community service. She was a hospice volunteer, completed two apprenticeships, and continued working toward her degree. As an ambassador for the Iowa Consortium for Higher Education in Prison (I.C.H.E.P), she gained essential advocacy skills that would shape her future endeavors. In May 2023, Amanda earned her associate degree from Iowa Central Community College.

In January 2024, she joined NARSOL’s affiliated organization Iowans Unafraid. She was elected executive director in September 2024 and has helped the organization launch support groups for families and individuals on the registry, enhance community outreach efforts, and expand its board. Amanda also is engaged in her local LGBTQ+ community and a variety of other advocacy and community organizations.

Matthew Snell has been involved with NARSOL for quite a few years; as copy editor of the Digest, he is a valuable member of the Digest staff and now is also on the board of directors. As a seminarian, Matt is deeply engaged with nonprofit and ecclesiastical communications. He has experience as a grassroots organizer, a former intelligence analyst, and a teacher. Matt completed two deployments during his Army career; his teaching fields were Government and U.S. and World History.

Matt considers a pivotal moment in his life when he joined the small percentage of individuals who take criminal accusations to trial. After nearly three years of pretrial incarceration for an alleged sex crime, he was found not guilty. This experience inspired his dedication to advocating for justice-impacted people and pursuing criminal justice reform. Matt’s extensive experience with public speaking, lobbying, fundraising, and grant writing will serve NARSOL well.

As a returning citizen and advocate for criminal justice reform, Christopher Sparks understands first-hand what enables a person to succeed as well as the barriers that lead to failure. He frequently shares his experience as a panelist at criminal and social justice conferences, dispelling misinformation about persons with past sexual offenses and raising awareness of the damaging impact that the registry has on families.

Chris is a native Floridian and holds a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Theological Studies, is a married father of four, and has twenty years of experience as a successful business manager in the building fabrication industry.  In his early adult years, a single decision changed the direction of his intended future, and he experienced a life of extreme restrictions placed on him by the criminal legal system.  Determined to prove his value to the community, he sought out opportunities, built relationships with decision-makers, and became a top-level company employee and eventual supervisor responsible for the safety and well-being of his staff.  Under Chris’ management, the company consistently exceeded annual sales projections and new business development goals. He brings that same drive, motivation, and vision to NARSOL, where his focus is on developing goals and projections for a NARSOL affiliate organization in each state.  Chris also serves on the board of Florida Action Committee (FAC) where he oversees the research and legal team and mentors regional coordinators who are the membership leaders of the organization.

NARSOL’s new board of twelve is excited about 2025 and the strides that can be made toward impacting laws and practices that affect our supporters.

The post NARSOL elects officers, adds new board members first appeared on NARSOL.

By Mark . . . NARSOL announces the filing of its opening appellate brief  in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in the case NARSOL et. al. v. Latoya Hughes, No. 24-2103. NARSOL is the lead plaintiff in the case. The case involves a challenge to the constitutionality of a parole restriction imposed on individuals on mandatory supervised release in Illinois for a sexual offense. In particular, plaintiffs sued the Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections seeking injunctive relief from the prohibition on individuals using erectile dysfunction medication while on mandatory supervised release. Plaintiffs contend that the condition interferes with rights protected by the Fourteenth Amendment’s substantive due process component and the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

At its core, however, the case is not about the particular condition being challenged. It is about the ability of individuals on parole as a general matter to challenge the constitutionality of their parole conditions through the civil rights law (I.e., § 1983) as opposed to being forced to challenge these conditions through a habeas corpus petition. As things currently stand, individuals may only challenge the constitutionality of their parole conditions via a habeas petition, which has the real-world effect of foreclosing individuals’ ability to challenge the constitutionality of their parole conditions at all given the burdensome requirements associated with bringing a habeas challenge and given that attorneys’ fees are not recoverable in such an action. This mean that the cases, when they are brought at all, are brought pro se (on one’s own behalf, i.e., self-representation).

The lawsuit is important primarily because parole conditions have over time become increasingly intrusive and harsh. Many conditions now are categorically imposed by statute, without any individualized consideration, and intrude upon an individual’s most basic constitutional rights. They include wholesale internet restrictions, inhumane no-child-contact restrictions, and burdensome GPS requirements. Absent the ability of individuals to effectively challenge such restrictions via § 1983, individuals are forced to endure constitutionally suspect conditions for years while on criminal supervision.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys are Mark Weinberg and Adele Nicholas in Chicago, Illinois.

The post NARSOL’s new case fights for parolees’ rights to bring civil rights challenges over parole conditions first appeared on NARSOL.

It’s not too late to register for the NARSOL conference in Atlanta, Georgia, June 20 – 23. Go to https://conference.narsol.org/ where you can register, view the schedule of events, and even book a hotel room. Follow the hotel link on the conference website to determine if rooms in the NARSOL block are still available.

At our conference, you can expect a safe and welcoming environment with many educational workshops and speakers with legal and advocacy expertise.  On Saturday night, there will be an awards banquet with entertainment and prizes that you do not want to miss.

If you can’t make it to the conference in Atlanta, we’ve got you covered there too! You can join us from the comfort of your own home! Just before the live stream begins, you’ll receive a special email with easy instructions on how to connect from your computer, laptop, or mobile device. (Don’t forget to check your spam folder, just in case!)

Plus, with the live stream option, you’ll have access to the recorded sessions for up to 90 days after the conference has ended. That means you can watch it whenever it’s most convenient for you, or re-watch your favorite parts with family and friends. NARSOL’s 2024 conference will be June 20th through 23rd. Please click the button below to go to the live stream sign up page.

The post NARSOL’s conference clock is ticking down first appeared on NARSOL.

AMENDED CALL TO ACTION #3 FOR SB 1230 and HB 1235:

SB 1230 has been referred to Senate Fiscal Policy Committee and HB 1235 added to Second Reading Calendar.

We have met with some success because of the emails, calls, and in-person visits with legislators.  Both bills (SB 1230 and HB 1235) have removed the language that could have made it impossible for anyone to ever petition to be removed from the registry.  Our teamwork is showing some positive results, and now is not the time to quit as we have more work to do.

What you need to know about SB 1230 and HB 1235:

• At the time of posting/emailing this Call to Action, no dates or times for future votes have been published, but we assume that they will be coming.
• SB 1230 and HB 1235 are an attempt by FDLE and our legislators to amend the Sexual Predators Act (FS 775.21) and the Sexual Offenders Act (943.0435).
• The sponsor of SB 1230 is Senator Jennifer Bradley, representing District 6 (Columbia, Baker, Union, Bradford, Clay, Gilchrist, and Northern Alachua Counties).  The sponsor of HB 1235 is Representative Jessica Baker, representing District 17 (part of Duval County).
• The verbiage “a day includes any part of a calendar day” is back in these bills.  “For the purpose of calculating a temporary residence under this paragraph, the first day that a person abides, lodges, or resides at a place is excluded and each subsequent day is counted.  A DAY INCLUDES ANY PART OF A CALENDAR DAY.”
• ANY duration of travel outside the USA is reportable (previously 5 days or more).  The line “5 days” has been struck out.
• Lines 1034-1036 and 1600-1602 in SB 1230 and lines 1034-1036 and 1601-1602 in HB 1235 state that EACH instance of a failure to register or report changes of the required information constitutes a SEPARATE offense.  A single misstep carries a maximum sentence of 5 years.  Someone on the registry could be facing decades in prison for one unintentional, paperwork violation, as it would be unreported each time you register. 
• These entire bills are retroactive in the sense that they will apply to all people on the registry regardless of when they were convicted.  However, they are not retroactive in the sense that someone who did NOT register 4 cars a month before the law passed (if it passes) could be charged with 4 separate offenses.  That part would only apply to registration violations committed after the bills’ effective date.

Please do the following:

• Email or call members of the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee first.  Then contact as many of the 120 House Representatives as you can.  Paul Renner is the Speaker of the House.
• You will need to give your name.
• IF YOU DO NOT LIVE IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, YOU COULD MENTION THAT AS IDEAL AS FLORIDA IS FOR VACATIONING, YOU DO NOT WANT TO VISIT A STATE THAT PASSES UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND VAGUE LAWS AS THESE TWO BILLS ARE.
• If you are a constituent for any of the senators you are contacting, make sure you mention that you are.  You can click on these links to find your senator and representative.
• Let the legislators know the reasons you OPPOSE a particular part of these bills.  Tell them what could happen to you and your family if these bills are not amended.  TELL YOUR STORY.
• If you call in the evening or on a weekend, voicemail will pick up.  Leave a message.  Aides say that voicemails are counted.
• Always be cordial in your communications with the legislators as they are more likely to listen to us.

Talking points:

The legislators are asking that we let them know how SB 1230 and HB 1235 will impact our lives.  TELL YOUR STORIES.  If you do not have a story to tell, then give a hypothetical story that could happen to you if the above-mentioned concerns we have with these bills are NOT removed.  More than one story would be great to share.

We also need for family members, friends, or anyone who would be negatively impacted by the changes being proposed in these bills to tell our legislators what will happen to them if the language is not removed from SB 1230 and HB 1235.

Do not try to use every suggestion or piece of information given in this Call to Action.  Pick out what is most important to you.  If you have time to write more than one email or make more than one call, then you could include additional information.

PERTAINING TO THE DEFINITION OF A DAY:

• Representative Baker (the sponsor of HB 1235) recently gave the following example of how the definition “part of a day” is intended to be used in HB 1235:
• 1st day at temporary residence counts as Day 0.  Does not count.
• 2nd day at temporary residence counts as Day 1.
• 3rd day at temporary residence counts as Day 2.
• 4th day at temporary residence counts as Day 3.  Triggers obligation to register.
• Representative Baker continued with her interpretation of HB 1235: Let’s say that you check out on the 4th day (also referred to as Day 3) at 8 am and return home.  Because you have stayed “any part” of Day 3, you have now triggered the obligation to register.  Had you left before midnight on the 3rd day (also referred to as Day 2), you would NOT have triggered the obligation to register.
• Representative Baker said that the “day includes any part of a calendar day” would only apply to Day 3, but these bills do NOT say that.  Some in law enforcement are saying there will be chaos in their departments if this passes.
• Nowhere in these bills does it state that Days 1 and 2 cannot be considered as “parts of a calendar day.” 
• Baker told the FAC members who met with her that the intent of this bill was NOT to keep people from visiting places or going to a barber shop, but the bill does not say that.  It says that a day includes “any part of a calendar day,” with a possible implication being that any PARTS of Days 1 and 2 would be considered a day in these bills.
• One possible scenario: You are in your sister’s wedding which involves being at a temporary residence for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.  Since Friday is the first day, it would not count, but you would technically have to leave by 12:00 am (midnight) on Sunday as any part of Monday would count as a “day.”  What if your flight is canceled?  Use other scenarios that you can think of that would apply to your life if this part of these bills is not amended.  TELL YOUR STORY.
• What do you do if it is a 3-day holiday weekend and your registration office is not open?  And your car breaks down late Friday afternoon, causing you to have to rent a car?  This is one reason we need for these bills to use the words “business day” rather than “day.”  TELL YOUR STORY.  If you do not have one, then describe hypothetically how such a situation could be disastrous for you.  Include family members’ stories.
• If Florida legislators want people on the registry to remain compliant, then change the word “day” to “business day.”  In lines 571-575 of SB 1230 and HB 1235, “If the sexual predator is in the custody of a local jail, the custodian of the local jail shall register the sexual predator within 3 BUSINESS DAYS after intake of the sexual predator…”  If the custodian of a jail is given 3 business days, then why aren’t people on the registry, who are trying to remain compliant, also given 3 business days?  TELL YOUR STORY OF WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU OR A FAMILY MEMBER WHO COULD NOT RE-REGISTER OR REGISTER A CHANGE BECAUSE THE OFFICE WAS CLOSED.

PERTAINING TO HAVING EACH INCIDENCE OF FAILURE TO REGISTER OR REPORT CHANGES COUNTING AS A SEPARATE OFFENSE:

• These are paperwork felonies with each offense coming with a maximum of 5 years in prison.
• One possible scenario: Your wife receives a new license plate with her renewed car registration and forgets to tell you.  You re-register 3 times, not knowing that her car has a new license plate.  Law enforcement comes to your home and sees the license plate that you have not registered at any of your 3 previous re-registrations.  You have now committed 3 paperwork felonies that could land you in prison for 15 years.  TELL YOUR OWN STORY ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU OR COULD HAPPEN TO YOU IN THE FUTURE IF THIS LANGUAGE STAYS IN THESE BILLS.
• Other benign violations that could land someone on the registry in prison for years if there is more than one occurrence:
• Failure to maintain a driver’s license or identification card;
• Failure to provide an email address or an internet identifier;
• Failure to provide a phone number.
• If the wording “each incident is counted as a separate offense” remains in these bills, some people on the registry who are not sexually re-offending could end up with longer prison sentences than that for some violent offenders.  How is sending people on the registry to prison for years for these paperwork felonies making society safer?
• If this language in SB 1230 and HB 1235 is not deleted, it is conceivable that someone could end up with a lifetime sentence for failure-to-register violations.  The Georgia State Supreme Court ruled that a lifetime sentence for failure to register is unconstitutional.  Decisions of state supreme courts, especially those of adjacent or nearby states, are persuasive authority, especially for matters of first impression, in another state.
• FDLE has expressed significant concerns in previous years: “…sexual offender and predator registration is a civil and regulatory process, not punishment…If the impact on sexual predator and offender registration is viewed as punishment…, the FDLE advises that these concerns may lead to significant litigation…Such litigation may jeopardize constitutionality, and therefore the viability, of Florida sexual offender and predator registration laws.”  (Florida Department of Law Enforcement, 2022 Agency Legislative Bill Analysis for SB 512, at 3 (Nov. 15, 2021))
• The “every mistake is a separate offense” shows that even the intent of the law is to be punitive.
• There are already lawsuits in Florida against the registry, and more are coming if the Florida Legislature is not reined in concerning passing even more punitive laws that affect the thousands upon thousands of law-abiding citizens on the Florida registry.
• FDLE is asking for the proposed changes in current statutes (943.0435 and 775.21).  They are focusing only on the small minority of people on the registry who have sexually re-offended after release from prison for a previous sex crime.  Focus on this minority of sexual re-offenders only, but why continue to punish the tens of thousands of people on the Florida registry who are NOT sexually re-offending and never will?
• It is time for Florida to begin using empirically-validated risk assessments (not the offense) to remove the thousands of people on the Florida registry who are now law-abiding citizens.  Then law enforcement could focus all resources on the small minority that continue to sexually re-offend.  Then and only then will society become safer.  (Florida is one of only three states in the United States where placement on the registry is for life.)

Contact information for members of the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee for SB 1230:

•  Senator Travis Hutson (R) Chair:  Hutson.travis.web@flsenate.gov  (850) 487-5007
• Senator Linda Stewart (D) Vice Chair:  stewart.linda.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5017
•  Senator Ben Albritton (R):  Albritton.ben.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5027
• Senator Lori Berman (D):  berman.lori.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5026
• Senator Jim Boyd (R):  boyd.jim.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5020
• Senator Colleen Burton (R):  burton.colleen.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5012
• Senator Alexis Calatayud (R):  calatayud.alexis.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5038
• Senator Jay Collins (R):  collins.jay.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5014
• Senator Nick DiCeglie (R):  diceglie.nick.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5018
• Senator Ileana Garcia (R):  Garcia.ileana.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5036
• Senator Shervin D. Jones (D):  jones.shevrin.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5034
• Senator Debbie Mayfield (R):  Mayfield.debbie.web@flsenate.gov  (850) 487-5019
• Senator Rosalind Osgood (D):  Osgood.rosalind.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5032
• Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez (R):  rodriguez.anamaria.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5040
• Senator Corey Simon (R):  simon.corey.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5003
• Senator Geraldine F. Thompson (D): Thompson.geraldine.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5015
• Senator Victor M. Torres, Jr. (D):  torres.victor.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5025
• Senator Jay Trumbull (R):  Trumbull.jay.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5002
• Senator Tom A. Wright (R):  wright.tom.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5008
• Senator Clay Yarborough (R):  yarborough.clay.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5004

For your individual representatives, click here.

The post Call to action from Florida Action Committee first appeared on NARSOL.

Join us on February 6th for our first NARSOL in Action of 2024. This is one that you do not want to miss. It will start at 8 p.m. EST so people across the country can attend and be a part of this conversation, hosted by David Garlock.

How many times do you have a question that you wish you could ask a member of NARSOL’s board? This NIA segment is going to allow you to have that opportunity. You will be able to ask questions to the members of the board that are in attendance and then receive the answers on the spot. Many people have asked if we could do this at a conference, but we decided that having a NARSOL in Action segment that has members of the board of directors present will be a great way to have these conversations and will allow people to be present who are unable to attend a conference.

Register at this link; we look forward to having a productive and powerful conversation about how we can all move forward in the fight to abolish the registry.

The post New NARSOL in Action with David first appeared on NARSOL.

The post New research survey first appeared on NARSOL.

By Janice and Sandy . . . Registrants in Missouri were not required to post a Halloween sign on their home this year, a sign that for all practical purposes identified the property as being residence to someone on Missouri’s sex offender registry. This was due to a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by a federal district court on October 27.  The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the TRO a few days later on October 30.  As a result, registrants and their families as well as their homes were not exposed to significant harm to themselves and damage to their property. The case, brought by ACSOL, is Sanderson v. Bailey.

November 3, 2023, the district court judge in the Missouri case issued an order extending the TRO and consolidating it with the trial date of March 27, 2024.  The trial will be a bench trial, with no jury, and it could last up to two days.  One of the issues in the case is whether the court should issue a permanent statewide injunction against the use of the signs.

This victory in Missouri was based, in part, upon precedent set in Georgia last year by NARSOL’S case McClendon v. Long, which was decided by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.  In that case, the appellate court ruled that the state of Georgia could not require registrants to post Halloween signs on their home because the signs were compelled speech and therefore violated the First Amendment.

The requirement of “No candy” signs at registrants’ homes on Halloween by county or parish sheriffs is an abomination and will be challenged.

Janice is an attorney and executive director of ACSOL.

The post Missouri: more good “Halloween signs” news first appeared on NARSOL.

Survey Of Insurance and Travel Rentals As a Person Forced to Register

Some Persons Forced to Register on the public “Sex Offense” Registry have reported difficulties in obtaining certain types of insurance. The purpose of this survey is to find out if this is a common problem amongst Persons Forced to Register.

The following questions will ask questions about applying for insurance and travel-related rentals and services (transportation, hotels, etc.). This survey will not ask questions regarding demographics or about certain forms of vacation travel like cruises or international travel.

The criteria for taking this survey is as follows:

1. You or your loved one MUST currently be on the sex offense registry, or have been forced to register at some point, AND
2. You or your loved one MUST have applied for insurance AND/OR have attempted to engage in domestic travel planning such as buying a travel ticket, renting transportation (including moving vans), or staying in a hotel or short-term lease, since placement on the sex offense registry.

This survey contains 18 questions plus a bonus question.

It should only take 5-10 minutes to complete.

This survey was created by Derek W. Logue of OnceFallen.com

Here is the link to the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/26B6DJZ

The post New survey first appeared on NARSOL.