Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the Senate on June 16, 2005, to prohibit certain convicted sex offenders on probation from residing within a “student safety zone,” defined as an area within 1,000 feet of a school. House Bill 4932 bans such offenders from working or loitering near a school

The vote was 36 in favor, 0 opposed and 2 not voting

(Senate Roll Call 361 at Senate Journal 74)

Click here to view bill details.

How could you honestly go to sleep at night knowing that their are alot of people out here that have made a mistake in their life that did not involve a heinous crime and you are trying to restrict their lives even more. They say you learn from your mistakes and move on, but you aren't going to let people move on. You are going to tear the lives of MORE children up by hurting the family and not looking into what you are doing before doing it. If you feel that these people committed such a harsh crime then why did 90% of them never go to prison? Think about it! The real predators and pedophiles are in prison or let out and shouldn't be. You just group everyone together on this list and make it like they all have committed the same crime! You were not put here to judge, GOD was! It is really to bad that you can't stop hurting people and protect the community from those who pose a threat instead of hiding them on the registry with people who wouldn't hurt anyone and made a stupid decision in their life.

Did you know that, legislatures nationwide, regularly ignore these facts and statistics!" FACT:. Today's statistics show that over 95% of new sex offenses are committed by a person who has never been convicted of a sex offense before! Person's trusted by the victim, including public servants... Who will commit more new sex offenses within 3-years of being paroled, sex offenders -OR- non-sex offenders? According to the Department of Justice, non-sex offenders commit more new sex offenses when paroled! Source: US Dep't of Justice, "Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994." pg-24 Published 11/2003. Do Sex Offenders Have a High Rate of Recidivism? No, if you want the truth; Yes, if you believe politicians & others who want this myth to continue: The Majority of Sex Offenses Are Committed By? -- Canadian Solicitor General Study on General Recidivism: June-2003 Sex Offenders .7% to 1.7% -- Department of Justice Study on Sex Offender Recidivism: November 2003 Sex Offenders: 3.5% (pg 2) -- State of Michigan, General Recidivism: Parole Board Statistics: 1990 through 2000 Sex Offenders 2.46% average. 4-9-2003 Washington State: Meeting on sex offenders goes beyond the stereotypes: The panelists said that known sex offenders are only a piece of the problem. They emphasized that only about 2 percent of sexual assaults involve strangers. The vast majority of crimes are committed by persons who are known and trusted, such as family members, friends, neighbors or babysitters. (Anacortes American) 98% of sexual offenses caused by a trusted person! 2% of sexual offenses caused by strangers! Should the public base decisions, on the media and politicians, or reality? For every 1 individual convicted of a sex crime there are 5-10-50 who are never caught and brought to justice. Yet for the repeated criminal activity of a Minuet Few the remainder of ALL previously convicted will suffer… ALONG WITH THEIR FAMILIES!! Prevention of the crime must be first and foremost... How is this done? By inacting legislation dedicated to HELPING THE POTENTIAL OFFENDER... So that the crime never happens to begin with. Prevention thru Counseling is the answer, it is the only answer to the nature of this type of offence, that is, to prevent it’s occurrence or re-occurrence. A "true" "PREDITOR" COMPRIMISES HONESTY... Yet how can one be honest when the mob rules... GOD HELP US... AMEN

are we allowed to raise our own kids...can i watch my kids play sports, drop them off and supervise them at school or in school activities...not sure what this bill means to my kids....anyone know for sure...who is covered here...this is unreal...

am i allowed to watch or observe my own kids at school??...can i parent my children or are they to quit all after school activities?/ am i allowed to observe, say , them in an after school baseball game or practice....i am not there to observe other kids, if it werent for my child playing , i woujldnt be there right...is this loitering??..am i allowed to take them and pick them up from school and go to any after school activities they are in or are they on theyre own???

you make a great point...also, who are kids in most danger of..drug dealers, drunk drivers, wife beaters, prescition addicts, armed robbers,,,etc...my point is this is just devastating to the kids of people that cannot do the right thing by theyre own children....isnt this about kids....what about the kids , who are completely innocent , that are tramatized by this action to theyre parents who wouldnt hurt a kid for all the world...just disgusting....there must be a legal case for the other side

I am writing you because I feel helpless write now. I was just informed of senate bill 617 being passed. (Was Senate Bill 617, Passed into law as Public Act 121 of 2005 (effective January 1, 2006): After reading through and trying to understand the new law, I feel that I agree with the motive for this law being passed. However, I am someone who has a CSC 4th degree conviction. It happened about four years ago. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time and I made some very stupid decisions. Today, and since I was sentenced, I have resumed a pretty normal life. I am 26 years old. My first son is 8, and my fiancée is due to give birth to our son Brayden in May! I am a huge sports fan and I have stayed involved with my high school’s sports teams. I have been nothing but co-operative with the law since turning myself in after finding out I was accused of my crime. After probation, community service, counseling, a psychiatric evaluation, and all my fines, I still register on time every forth month. Like every person along the way has advised me, I am trying to just move forward and be the best person and role model that I can be for the rest of my life. To this day I still get sick to my stomach when I think about how I am put in the same category as a rapist/child molester or someone who was convicted of CSC 1,2, or 3. My Dad is the president of the school board at my old high school. My soon to be in-laws have transferred one of their teens to that same school impart because of my involvement with football there. Someone who must know that I am a registered offender recently sent an anonymous letter to the school asking them to look into my registry. I was just notified by the school yesterday that I am no longer allowed within 1000 feet of any school zone. I have since been scrambling for answers. I have spoken with my old probation officer, my old lawyer, the state police department, Kentwood police department, my old high school principle, and the superintendent. It seems that no one knows what to tell me. I don’t know at this point, if I am allowed to even drop my son of at school, or go to his class events, concerts, or field day? Can I go to football games or basketball games? I don’t know what to do! I am not a danger to society, I am just trying to get over what has happened and move on. Now I fear that every year another law will pass that makes life even more embarrassing and impossible for my family and me. I understand that I am only one person writing you today. I also understand that I am not the best communicator. I do believe there are other people who are going through what I am. The everyday anxiety and feeling of being tortured by having to register and now also avoid school zones. Just like me they are trying to live life with a CSC 4th degree conviction while society fears us and thinks we are rapist and child molesters when that is not the case at all in my situation. Please help, what can I do? Thank you, Timothy R. Woodox

hey tim..post this on mlive;...i totally am in empathy with you...

csc4th is a misdemeanor right??...misdemeanor...not even as serious as shoplifting...runnning a stop sign..maybe granholm can answer this...oh by the way...i feel your pain...this is messed up...really bad ....

Wow...I have had other people respond to what I wrote as well. Does anyone else think I should post this on Mlive or anywhere else? I also sent it to every State Senator in Michigan.

post it on mlive crime section...maybe news section..send it to detroit news..one of theyr'e editors i believe or reporters, i think started all this with one of theyr'e articles...its a great story..and one shared by many others i am sure who are just too embarrassed or unsure of what to do ...you definately are a very strong person, to post this. my hat goes off to you ..believe me, there are others who really been shafted by this and the real losers are the kids...i would let you sit next to my kid any time at a basket ball game....congrats on your story..

and others who maybe sent to politicans theyre story .tim, how do you send something to all the polliticians? very interesting. i too have a story i would like to send them. how do you do it?

On this site I found a spot that shows how the senators all voted for the senate bill 617. There is a link to their eamial addresses.

, but why not just lock these sick basturds up for life with no possibility of parole?

You sure seem to know an awful lot about sex offenders, perhaps a little too much.

If you are talking about child molesters, I couldn't agree more. However anyone who has ever taken a piss outside technically could be registered as a sex offender. I'm in favor of the law, however there are a lot of gray areas that need to be worked out.

You said you did something stupid, what was it?

but law doesnt target child abusers. it goes after a guy who got a misdemeanor 15 years ago. it goes after someone who maybe never would dream of hurting a kid...i say go after drug dealers and anyone using a gun in a crime...how many kids are shot, drive by's..some guy that got csc4 and it had nothing to do wiht kids, who is a law abiding citizen , why do you want to start trouble for someone who is trying to do the right thing? very bad law and it hurts the kids of these lawabiding people trying to put theyre live back together...

What sick basterds? Are you saying lock up all CSC convicted people? 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th degree?

You hit the hammer right on the nail! I have a 4th degree conviciton on my record. I too agree with the law. But the grey areas are way to broad! My conviciton came back in college. I got drunk and she lied about her age. By definition of law...I bet some commits CSC3 or CSC4 at virtually every H.S. and College party!! And the scariest thing is...neither party knows it!

Teh question is what can we do to fix or amend the law? Does ANYONE know?

My roommate and his buddy brought two girls over. So stupid thing number one was I should have I.D. them and found out how old they where and asked them to leave. Obviously I didn't do that. Who does in college. The second stupid thing I did was co-operate 100% with the law before I got a lawyer.

None of the politicians want to go on record as being in favor of not coming down hard on sexual offenders. But this is ridiculous how we are marking people for life who may have done something stupid as a kid or very young adult that has nothing whatsoever to do with molesting kids. Let's come up with really strict laws that keep the real predators behind bars. But let's quit lumping all offenders together so they can get on with their lives and raising their own kids. There is a statute of limitation for prosecuting crimes. There should also be a statute of limitations on labeling one time sex offenders who aren't predatory. Twenty five years of being on a sex offender regestry is way too long to have to pay for a mistake that wasn't about preying on children. God help our politicians recognize that there is a difference between looking like one is protecting children and actually doing it.

So you were probably 19 and the gilr was 16 maybe? you can't fault anyone for that, not when Hugh Hefner doesn't date anyone who is at least 50 years younger than him. Unfortunatly you can't do anything without a lawyer. F.Y.I. for anyone who is arrested for anything when the officer says "you have the right to remain silent" for God's sake remain silent! Don't ever say anything without a lawyer present.

Seems like Michigan should look at some other states like OH and overhaul the guidelines on this offense. These crimes can be terrible but not all of the situations are the same and many of the situations are minor. Can't the smart people figure out a better plan. What is the 1,000 foot rule really going to fix? Please take a look at this - there is real opportunity to amend the rules.

I FIGURED OUT A WAY TO BEAT THE REGISTRY IN INDIANA. I WILL PROBABLY LOSE IN THE FIRST FEW ROUNDS, BUT THE HIGHER COURTS WILL HAVE TO SIDE WITH ME. I AM WILLING TO TAKE ALL OF THE CHANCES HERE. IN SHORT, IT WILL TAKE MONEY FOR ME AND MY FAMILY TO SURVIVE WHILE THE BATTLE IS UNDERWAY. IF I AM RIGHT THEN IT WILL CAUSE THE REGISTRY TO BE TOSSED IN EVERY STATE. IT COULD GO ALL THE WAY TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT. I'LL CHECK BACK IN THREE DAYS FOR COMMENTS. CODE NAME: THE EXTRA PERSON.

this whole concept is unconstitutional.....for the kids and familys of those convicted..good luck

today challenged georgia law similar to one passed here in michigan on zones...constitutionlaty of it...aclu should be able to help..dont know why the aclu hasnt been more involved in other states on rights of people not on probation or parole who have done nothing wrong...check with them to help you in indianna

Sen. Cassis was out of town due to a family issue. See Senate Journal 75 page 1229 for her Statement and vote intention.

to georgia suit ..aclu getting involved finally in helping with the rights of people trying to get lives in order...i have a question..if you are not allowed near a school bus stop, and not allowed on school property, how are you supposed to get your 5 year old child on the bus or to school?..maybe federal judges will come to their senses here ..

the only practical purpose for an attorney is to protect you from ANOTHER attorney.

... barbaric

Michigan’s Constitution has prohibited the death penalty for more than 170 years. It has withstood the test of time. The death penalty prohibition has been ratified repeatedly, in 1835, again in 1850, again in 1908 and most recently 1963. That is no binding reason to automatically reject ending the prohibition. But it nonetheless makes a strong argument for considering any proposal to institute the death penalty in Michigan with the greatest of care and soundest of reasoning. Michigan already has one of the most costly criminal justice and imprisonment systems in the country. Our state’s prisons alone eat up nearly 20 percent of the state’s annual taxpayer-funded operating budget. Experience across the nation clearly demonstrates that death penalty administration – from trial through incarceration, appeals and finally offing the bad guy – produces crushing expenses and greater cost burdens for taxpayers. Huge expenses for death penalty cases have resulted in fewer resources being available to prosecute perpetrators of serious but non-capital crimes in many jurisdictions, which diminishes the quality of justice available to victims of such crimes. All that surely makes the death penalty a bad deal for the public, from an economic perspective – the public pays more, but actually gets less in return. Plus, there is no convincing evidence that the death penalty serves as a deterrent to the commission of heinous crimes. On balance, the factual record makes no good case for ending Michigan’s constitutional prohibition of the death penalty.

what, by the way was the reason for banning it in the first place? michigan was the first in the english speaking world to do this. why? because one (properly convicted) murderer gave a rousing speech. and a couple of weeks later, another murder went to canada, where THEY killed the wrong guy, and the rightfull murderer later confessed. i can see no logical reason stated for the prohibition of the death penalty over 170 years ago, and i see no logical reason to keep it repealed today. by the way, most of the costs of appeals is paid for out of our FEDERAL taxes, not the state. on the other hand, expenses such as inmate hospitalization and long term care ARE taken out of our state taxes.

We can try and MUST try, but I think both parties have their doubts they can be rehabilitated. Serious doubts.

both sides DO have serious doubts, and rightly so. there have been VERY few cases of true "rehabilitation" from our prison systems, especially in the sexual predator area.

Personally, I am in favor of tools such as the sex offender registry for those of us who are law abiding to be aware of potential risks.....BUT putting someone's face, name, and entire family's reputation on the line for one offense seems a little too harsh....maybe appropriate for a 3rd time offender, but not for one incident. I struggle with the fairness of putting sex offenders on a public registry like that, but not violent criminals. I would be more concerned about having a murderer living next door than someone who got a little too pushy with his/her spouse/significant other/date etc. and was convicted of sexual assault. The punishment just doesn't seem to fit the crime.

GREAT!! HOPE IT REALLY WORKS