This was sent to me by Colleen Dalquist, the mother of murdered Erika Dalquist.
From: Bob Heales [mailto:bob.raheales@mindspring.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2004 12:53 PM
To:
MAPI-MN@yahoogroups.com; PPIAC;
WADMembers@topica.com; NCISSNEWS; CII
NEWSGROUP
Subject: National Sex Offender Registry Act of 2004
Members and Friends:
Below is a summary of the National Sex Offender Registry Act of 2004 provided to me by Sen. Byron Dorgan's office. On September 9th 2004, I, along with other members of The National Council of Investigation and Security Services, will be meeting with various members of Congress in Washington, DC to urge their support and co-sponsorship of what has become to be known as "Dru's Law", along with other issues important to investigative professionals. Please help us by taking a moment to call or fax your U.S. Senators and Representatives to encourage their support of this important legislation. There are those opposed to this legislation who are of the opinion it is too strong and unfair to those trying to start a new life after paying their debt to society. They have a strong lobbying group and we must not let them get the upper hand. Your help is needed. Your faxes and calls are needed prior to September 9th. To see the complete bill go to
www.thomas.loc.gov <http://www.thomas.loc.gov/> and enter S. 2154. You are welcome to forward this message to other friends, family members and coworkers.
Thank You,
Bob Heales
R.A. Heales & Associates, Ltd.
Summary
NATIONAL SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY ACT OF 2004
(S. 2154/H.R 3929)
Why this bill is important: This bipartisan bill seeks to fill a gaping hole in our criminal justice system, made evident by a recent tragedy in North Dakota.
The bill is important to every state in the country. A recent study found that 72 percent of "high risk" sex offenders commit another crime within 6 years of being released.
And sex offenders who are not under supervision can move across state lines freely.
We cannot release such individuals with no supervision, and let them prey upon an unsuspecting public.
For instance, last November, Dru Sjodin was abducted from the parking lot of a shopping mall in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Her body was found near Crookston, MN on April 17th after an exhaustive 5 month search by family members and friends. Her alleged assailant, Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr., had been released from prison only six months earlier, having served the full term of his 23-year sentence for rape in Minnesota.
Rodriguez was released from prison even though Minnesota correctional authorities had determined that he was at "high risk" for re-offending. Rodriguez was allowed to go completely unsupervised, except for the requirement that he register as a sex offender in Minnesota. He chose to live in a Minnesota town close to the North Dakota border. But because there is no national sex offender registry, nearby North Dakota communities had no way of knowing that a dangerous sex offender was living nearby.
What this bill does: First, it requires the Justice Department to create a national sex offender registry, accessible to the public through the Internet. This registry would allow users to specify a search radius across state lines, providing much more complete information on nearby sex offenders.
Second, it requires state prisons to notify states attorneys whenever "high risk" offenders are about to be released, so that states attorneys can consider petitioning the courts for continued confinement of the offender. The "civil commitment" option is available under the law in many states, if an individual is deemed a continuing threat to the public safety. In the Dru Sjodin case, prison officials did not alert the states attorney of Rodriguez' impending release. If they had done so, this tragedy might have been avoided.
Third, it requires states to monitor "high-risk" offenders who are released after serving their full sentence - and are otherwise not subject to probation or other supervision - for a period of no less than one year.
How this bill will be paid for: The cost would be shared by the Federal Government and the states. The Federal Government would bear the cost of maintaining the national sex offender registry, and the states would bear the cost of supervising high risk offenders upon their release from prison.
To ensure compliance with the bill, the legislation would reduce federal funding for prison construction by 25 percent for those states that did not comply, and would reallocate such funds to states that did comply.
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