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     This is a little long, but please take the time to read it, and

          ponder the questions at the end.  It is a true story.  Thank you.

                 Is Jared a "violent sex offender" who needs lifetime supervision .  .  .                                                         

                 Current law says yes, "one size fits all."   Should he, and others like him, be punished the same

                 as those in the heinous kidnapping/murder/rape cases we read about in the news? 

                 You decide . . .  

                 Jared was an honor student, varsity athlete, accomplished musician, community volunteer, Eagle Scout,

                 and was active in church all his life.  He had little dating experience as his interests kept him busy.  He 

                 was a good kid.

                 At age 18, after high school graduation, for a short time he made some bad decisions and began drink-

                 ing  with friends.  One was an underage girl.  He had sexual contact with her while both were under the

                 influence of alcohol. There was no force, no coercion, no violence.  The incident lasted a few minutes.

                 The next morning he felt terrible about what he had done.  He decided to put aside his rebellious ways,

                 choosing to spend time with good friends,  and having several healthy, non-sexual, relationships with 

                 girls his own age. 

                 His confession . . .

                 The incident came to light four months later.  When confronted by his parents Jared confessed to

                 what he had done.  He then met with his clergy, who rightly advised him that the right thing would be

                 to tell law enforcement.  He  took full responsibility for what he had done, with nothing to

                 hide, and turned him self in that very day.

                 Unfortunately, Jared didn't have an attorney with him.  If he had, he would have been afforded a 

                 degree of protection which the law allows. Later an attorney was engaged, but there was nothing he 

                 could do at this point.  A full confession was on the record now, and so Jared was indicted on a

                 rape charge.

                 As an aside, since four months had passed and there was now no physical evidence it’s possible

                 (right or wrong) that he wouldn’t have been charged with anything.   It was Jared’s desire to take full

                 responsibility for his actions and his honesty that gave the D.A. his case.

                 During pre-trial . . .

                  Upon hearing of the incident Jared’s parents immediately got him into counseling as they wanted

                  to know what was going on with their son.  The doctor concluded that he was not a dangerous

                  predator, but was somewhat socially immature, sexually curious, that he had made a mistake which

                  he was not likely to repeat, and that he had compassion for the young woman and her family.  (Report

                  was sent to the D.A. and is on file with Jared's attorney.) 

                  Jared’s attorney tried unsuccessfully to meet with the D.A. about reducing the charge.  Over 100 friends,

                  community leaders, former teachers and others wrote to the D.A. asking for leniency, but to no avail. 

                  In an effort to make restitution to the young woman Jared wrote letters of apology to the young woman

                  and her family, helped pay for psychological counseling for her, and gave her parents money toward

                  redecorating her bedroom (where the encounter happened).

                  Jared and his family were grateful that to avoid having the girl go through a trial the D.A. offered a him

                  a plea of 10 years without parole.  He accepted it like a man, blamed nothing or no one but himself,

                  and determined to make the best of it.  Had the encounter happened just a few weeks later than it did,

                  the age of the girl would have been different and the charge would have been much lower, probably not

                  even requiring any incarceration.

                  In prison . . .

                  Jared is a trustee and top worker in his full time prison day job.  He has graduated from a vocational

                  training course, and is an "A" student in the university courses he takes by mail.  Jared created an inmate

                  service project  where the men made over 200 quilts for the needy.  He has taught himself to play the

                  guitar, and sings and plays piano for church groups who hold services there.  He tutors inmates trying to 

                  earn their GED.  Jared also participates and excels in all of the allowable sports and holds the weightlifting

                  record for the prison compound.

                  Jared has had strong support from family and friends (male and female) and they have visited him

                  nearly every Saturday and Sunday for 8 years.  His church sends men to the prison to conduct weekly

                  church services and his standards remain high.  He's making the best of a difficult situation.

              Plea for executive clemency . . .

                  After a few years in prison Jared applied for executive clemency since his case was an unusual one. 

                  Over 30 state legislators wrote to the parole board requesting that a clemency hearing be granted,

                  and it was.  They who create the state laws recognized this wasn’t the type of guy they were trying to

                  put in prison. (letters on file with Jared's attorney)

                  The judge in the case wrote to the governor saying that he would support clemency due to the

                  unusual nature of the case, and the fact that there was no judicial discretion in this mandatory

                  minimum case.  It is highly unusual for a judge to do this.

                  Later, after he re-examined the case,  the D.A. wrote to the governor too saying he would

                  support clemency if granted.  Very unusual for a D.A. to do this.  (both letters are on file with Jared's

                  attorney)

                  Unfortunately, clemency was denied.  What governor wants to be remembered for releasing a sex

                  offender?  After leaving office this governor realized he had erred and apologized to the family

                  for not taking care of this case, and did what he could to now help, but it was too late.   

                  His future . . .

                  In Jared's state when he is released from prison he will not be free, despite the unanimous agreement

                  that he is not a sexual predator.  Because of his charge he is now labeled a "violent sex offender" and

                  is under the control of the parole dept. for the rest of his life.  

                 That was not part of his plea agreement.  So, in order for the state to legally do this,  before

                 being released from prison Jared will be forced to sign a document agreeing to an amended sentence

                 of Community Supervision for Life.  If he doesn't sign it he will be arrested by the local sheriff and

                 charged with a new offense. 

                 What does community supervision for life mean in his state? 

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             Most New "Lifetime Supervision" laws are being applied retroactively which means even

                  though one has finished his time in prison he will not be free, but is "under the control of the

                  Department of Probation and Paroles," forever,  even though that was not in his original sentence. 

                  This means a he must continually get the approval of his parole officer for just about anything.

                     •   Can't leave one's county of residence.

                     •   Family functions -  can't attend if any minors are present, not even for holidays.

                     •   Worship - one worship service only; no classes activities, etc.  Can't go at all if it's

                            near a school, day care, etc.

                    •   Free time -  can't go to movie theater, library, a gym, sporting events, beach, lake, river,

                              mall, tennis courts, parks, state parks, National parks, bowling alley, hiking, camping,

                              most cultural events, amusement parks, etc. Can’t go to homes of friends or family, or

                              cemeteries,  if  within 1000 ft. of school, day care, etc.

                    •   Dating - some parole officers require that all potential dates first attend the offender's

                              group therapy.

                    •   Fees – Must pay $250 - $350 per month for parole supervision, registry, GPS, counseling

                               and polygraph tests.

                    •   College - Few accept registered sex offenders.

                    •   Internet access not allowed, limiting college and employment opportunities.

                    •   Sports – Since parks are off limits can’t participate in sports; gyms with child care.

                    •  His own children - when he marries he can't take his kids to school, a park, fair, amusement

                              park, beach, camping, hiking, public pool, mall, library or watch them participate in school

                              programs, sports,  Scouts etc. 

                              He can take them to restaurants, markets, and Walmart-type stores.

                    •   Must register quarterly, generally requiring a few hours off from work.

              •   Residence must be 1000 feet from any school, daycare, park, athletic field, etc.

                    •   Employment must be 1000 feet from any school, daycare, park, etc.; no internet access

                             or travel out of the county allowed.

                    •  GPS and curfew - GPS requires nightly charging with 9 pm to 6 am curfew.

                    •   All of this may be important to protect society from pedophiles or predators, but surely

                not young first offenders who are not a danger to others, that have already given years

                        their lives to pay their debt to society.

	Question:    Is Jared a "violent sex offender" who needs to be monitored for the rest                            of his life?                          Question:   Should young first offenders (age 19 or under at the time of their                             offense) be monitored the same as those whose crimes involved                              kidnapping, violence, force, murder, attempted murder?

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                         •  About 1% of sex crimes involve murder.  Current laws are based on these, widely publicized,

                                very tragic cases.  

                        •  Proper terminology is important.  A young first offender (age 19 or under at the time of

                                offense is a "sex offender, " but should not be confused with pedophiles or child

                                predators.

                 Young foolish teenager - (we're not justifying behavior, but understanding it.)

                                    •  immature - scientific data says the male brain isn't fully mature until about age 25.

                                    •  sexually curious.

                                    •  bombarded with sexual messages in music, tv, movies, music videos, fashion, etc.

                                    •  has likely had exposure to pornography on computer, in print, film, etc.  

                                    •  approaching the prime of their physical and sexual development.

                                    •  highly unlikely to pose future threat to society after release from corrections.

                             see "Less Guilty by Reason of Adolescence," American Psychologist Dec.  2003, 1909-1018               

                             www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14664689&dopt=Abstract   

                 Sex Offender -

                                        •  Any male or female, any age (states vary from age 12 and up), convicted of any sex offense. 

                                           This can include streakers, flashers, sexually active consenting teens if one is under age 18

                              Pedophile -

                                        •  primary sexual attraction is to children.

                                        •  spend time forming relationships of trust with children or with adults who will allow

                                             them to have access to children.

                                        •  they usually have many victims.

                                        •  those who molest boys have the highest recidivism rate.

                              Sexual predator  -

                                        •  the most dangerous.

                                        •  primary purpose is to find and victimize someone.

                                        •  may use kidnapping, weapons, violence, murder or attempted murder.

                         Definitions for pedophile and predator based on information from: The Association for the Treatment

                                    of Sexual Abusers Public Policy- Position Papers http://www.atsa.com; The Center for Sex

                                    Management. http://www.csom.org/; U.S. Dept. of Justice 2003 Report p. 2 

                                    http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/rsorp94.pdf.  There can be some cross-over behaviors and

                                    an offender may be in  more than one category, such as a pedophile who kidnaps (predator).

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                             Inasmuch as the registry has not been determined to be effective we ask that young

                           first offenders (age 19 or under at the time of offense) be excluded from the

                           public registry, especially since information is still be available to law enforcement.

                        •  "As far as I know it does zip.  Find me some studies, something regarding the effectiveness

                            of sex offender registries.  There is no evidence that it helped.  One would think there'd

                            be definitive studies, There are none as far as I know."  State Rep. Sean Faircloth, Chair-

                            man of Commission to Improve Community Safety and Sex Offender Accountability

                            http://ellsworthmaine.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5863&Itemid=31

                           "Because low level offenders pose minimal risk of reoffense, the harms of loss of reputation and 

                           anonymity along with the stigma of being branded a sex offender could outweigh the protective value

                           of public notification."   J. Small. 1999. Who are the people in your neighborhood? New York University

                           Law Review 74:1465-1467.      

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                    We ask that young first offenders (19 or under at the time of offense) be excluded

                        from GPS, especially since there is no evidence that it would do any good.

                 •  "There is simply no evidence to suggest that residency restrictions or GPS monitoring will

                          lead to decreases in recidivism."  (Californians Against Sexual Assault, a victim advocacy,

                          assault prevention organization,  from ballot statement created for Prop. 83, Nov. 2006)

                           Calcasapositionpapers.org

                     •   "It's another example of feel-good legislation to get communities to feel that

                         actual action is being taken to stem the problem.  GPS monitoring and residency require-

                         ments are not going to do anything with the vast majority of offenders.   They're just not."

                 Pamela Schultz, childhood sexual abuse survivor, author of "Not monsters: Analyzing

                         the Stories of Child Molesters," associate professor at Alfred University.

                          http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/12/19/offenders/index.html

                     •  Unintended consequences - Residency and GPS requirements will have the unintended conse-

                         quence of making victims less likely to report the crimes. "If something happens inside your family

                         and you report that, it's going to be plastered all over the place   Not only is the offender under

                         public scrutiny, so are the families of the victims."   (Schultz, ibid.)

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                   The effectiveness of these laws is being challenged.  We ask that young first

                       offenders, (age 19 or under at time of offense) be excluded from  these

                       residency restrictions. 

                      •   Iowa County [District] Attorneys Association.

                                     Residency restriction "does not provide the protection that was originally intended

                                     and that cost . . . and unintended effects on families of offenders warrant replacing

                                     the restriction with more effective protective measures  . . .80 to 90% of sex crimes

                                     against children are committed by a relative or acquaintance  . . . that is not impeded

                                     by residency restrictions.   Only parents can effectively impede that kind of access."

                                     "Statement on Sex Offender Residency Restrictions in Iowa, January 2006,"

                                     http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/files/iowa_prosecutors_

                                     statement_on_sex_offenders.pdf

                     •  Minnesota Department of Corrections.

                                    Reports "There is no evidence in Minnesota that residential proximity to schools or

                                    parks affects re-offense . . . Blanket proximity restrictions on residential locations of level

                                    three offenders do not enhance community safety, the current offender-by-offender

                                    restrictions should be retained.  [case by case basis]