For more than 90 percent of people on this list, registration is for 25 years to life. While there is a process to petition for removal from the registry, in practice, these requests are rarely successful. Meanwhile, people on the registry are subject to distancing laws that place severe limits on where they can live, making housing, an integral part of successful reentry a serious barrier. The public nature of registries opens them up to harassment and discrimination — or in the worst case, violence or even death. Sex offender registries, touted as a solution to keep communities safe, have not only failed in their mission, they actually leave communities less safe than they would have been without registries in place. You can watch the entire conversation below :.
Michigan lawmakers debate changes to states sex offender registry law after court ruling
Judge tells Michigan to rewrite sex offender registry law
Alissa Ackerman of California State University Fullerton, a criminologist and national expert on the treatment of sex offenders. Individuals found to be low-risk — and some adjudged moderate-risk — would be on a registry only available to law enforcement personnel. The proposal was crystalized into a bill introduced during the immediate past session of the General Assembly, though it failed to make it out of the Judiciary Committee. State Sen. Paul Doyle, co-chair of the committee, said the complexity and emotional nature of the issue made it more appropriate for the longer session next year. Leadership was not prepared to deal with it in a short session.
Sex offender registry: More harm than good?
Among the state's registry restrictions the U. Detroit U. District Judge Robert Cleland has given the Legislature a deadline to amend the law by no later than 14 days after the coronavirus state of emergency ends.
Michigan's registry contains information on convicts classified as sex offenders, some of it public and some data that's only available to law enforcement agencies. Under the state law that created the registry, offenders were required to tell the state within 10 days of a change of address. When the registry was set up, people convicted of one sex offense were to stay on the list for 25 years after the conviction; those convicted of multiple crimes were to be on the list for life. A amendment retroactively barred most offenders from living, working or loitering within 1, feet of school property.