Author: rbchatelle

“A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) violates the U.S. Constitution by confining offenders indefinitely without giving them access to the courts and other protections of the criminal justice system.” Read the full article by Chris Serres in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

“She’ll be reading from her book this Sunday night, June 7, at the Bluestockings bookstore, 172 Allen St., on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, at 7 p.m. Admission is free. “If you’re wondering what it looks like when an academic talks the talk, walks the walk, and changes the lives of future cops and former convicts,… Continue reading Are we too hard on sex offenders? Lenore Skenazy on Emily Horowitz

“No one wants to allow a child to be hurt, and laws that create mechanisms to “keep bad men away” are seductive because they make us feel safer – but that safety is an illusion that comes at a great price. As a society we are not capable of predicting who will or will not… Continue reading Questionable Committments

“Permanent injunctions following a full trial may be constitutional, if the speech fits within some First Amendment exception, such as perhaps the libel exception. Preliminary injunctions are almost never constitutional, as the Pentagon Papers case shows. And in any event, any injunction would have to be based on a showing that the entire article was… Continue reading New Jersey judge orders newspaper to take down article

“When I learned that, more than a decade ago, reality-TV star Josh Duggar avoided jail after his parents dealt with molestation charges via church and family contacts, it made me think about the men I interviewed for my book about our draconian sex-offender laws.” Read the article in the Daily News.

“Ultimately, the panic and power of suggestion was pervasive enough to dupe our entire criminal justice system, as dozens of innocent people were sent to prison for crimes for which there was no evidence other than the coerced testimony of kids, and for which those same defendants would later be exonerated.” Read the article by… Continue reading The ongoing legacy of the great satanic sex abuse panic

The NCRJ has long sponsored the case of Dan and Fran Keller. “Beginning in 1991, Fran and Dan Keller, who ran a day care out of their Austin home, committed unspeakable acts against their charges — they put one in a swimming pool with a baby-eating shark; they forced the kids to watch as they… Continue reading “Satanic” Day-Care Operator’s Conviction Tossed

Lelaind knew he’d test positive for marijuana. But after spending the past few years bouncing in and out of jail, mostly for minor parole violations, he wasn’t afraid of another 30-day stretch. I can do that standing on my head, he thought. That was in 2006, when Lelaind was 26 years old. He’s been kept… Continue reading The Shadowy Realm of Civil Commitment

The “San Antonio Four” appeared in court Wednesday for the first time since they were convicted and sentenced for sexual assault in the late 90’s. These four women — were sent to prison for more than a decade, after being accused of raping and threatening two young girls with a gun. The four were let… Continue reading Day one of ‘San Antonio Four’ hearing

“It’s never simple when science suffers a shakeup. The road to the truth is littered with fallen experts who were disgraced when they tried to disprove—or prove—the common wisdom, be it that the earth revolves around the sun or that witches float. Today’s researchers are fighting to restore logic in the debate over vaccinations, global… Continue reading Is Shaken Baby Syndrome the New Satanic Panic?