MI Supreme Court - NARSOL https://www.narsol.org National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws Mon, 19 Aug 2024 14:04:47 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.narsol.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Mark_Only_RGB.png MI Supreme Court - NARSOL https://www.narsol.org 32 32 To MI media: Sex offender registry increases risk of harm to children https://www.narsol.org/2024/08/to-mi-media-sex-offender-registry-increases-risk-of-harm-to-children/ https://www.narsol.org/2024/08/to-mi-media-sex-offender-registry-increases-risk-of-harm-to-children/#comments Tue, 06 Aug 2024 16:16:10 +0000 https://www.narsol.org/?p=96790 By Sandy . . . The Michigan Supreme Court, on July 29, 2024, issued an opinion that may result in close to 300 people being removed from Michigan’s sex offender registry. The case, People v. Lymon, revolved around whether individuals who had
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By Sandy . . . The Michigan Supreme Court, on July 29, 2024, issued an opinion that may result in close to 300 people being removed from Michigan’s sex offender registry. The case, People v. Lymon, revolved around whether individuals who had committed crimes that were non-sexual in nature could appropriately be required to register; the court held that they could not and that to do so was unconstitutional.

Unfortunately, the minority opinion, included in the decision, is garnering almost as much interest as the majority one. Emails directed to the NARSOL communications desk have been concerned with what it says and the message that it sends and perpetuates. That minority opinion is this: ” ‘The majority opinion ignores that countless Michigan families rely on the registry to ensure their safety. … Registration provides vital information for the parent who must choose a babysitter or entrust a child with a volunteer coach,’ said Zahra, who was joined by Justice David Viviano.”

August 6, 2024, NARSOL sent an email to 48 Michigan media outlets, all whose focus is Michigan news and politics. This is a copy of the email:

     The Supreme Court’s decision that will result in approximately 300 people being removed from Michigan’s sex offender registry included this from the dissenting opinion: “The majority opinion ignores that countless Michigan families rely on the registry to ensure their safety. … Registration provides vital information for the parent who must choose a babysitter or entrust a child with a volunteer coach,’ said Zahra, who was joined by Justice David Viviano.”
     These are the sorts of statements and the type of thinking that actually puts children at increased risk for becoming victims of sexual molestation. Every Michigan family who relies on the registry to ensure the safety of their family is ignoring the far, far greater threat–almost 100 times greater–of sexual harm to their children.
     Persons who have been convicted for a sexual crime and punished seldom reoffend. This was true long before the registry existed; it has been true as long as the tracking of these issues has been done. I know the media makes it seem otherwise, but empirical data does not bear that out. The latest that Michigan  published a recidivism study that I can find is 2014. It showed that those with sexual crime convictions had less than a 1% reincarceration rate after three years. That information is on the very first page of the study, found here. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/cappsmi/CAPPS_Paroling_people_who_committed_serious_crimes_11_23_14.pdf
     Virtually all sexual offenses against children are committed by those without a conviction for a sexual crime–and therefore not on a sex offender registry–but rather those known to and trusted by the family, specifically family members themselves, other authority figures, and the peers of the victims.
     I wonder if there is any way to issue a challenge to the dissenting justices: Do some research into the last 10 or 20 or 50 cases of sexual abuse of a child in as many jurisdictions as possible. In how many of the cases was the perpetrator of each case someone already on the registry? I think they will be totally shocked.

     I represent the National Assc. for Rational Sexual Offense Laws–NARSOL. We are an organization that advocates for laws based on facts and evidence and for policies that support the successful rehabilitation, restoration, and reintegration of law abiding, registered persons into society as the path to a safer society. I am the communications director, and I would be pleased to answer any question you may have.

It will be interesting to see if any of those who open and read the email, currently running at around 25%, contact me with questions or for more information. It is encouraging that approximately 2/3  of those who have opened it so far have clicked on the link to the Michigan sexual recidivism study from 2014.

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