Michigan Citizens for Justice is an advocacy and support group for Michigan
sex offenders
A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...
and their families. Michigan Citizens for Justice is an affiliate organization of
Reform Sex Offender Laws, Inc., and one of the more than 50 organizations nationwide
movement to reform sex offender laws in the United States
The movement to reform sex offender laws in the United States describes the efforts of individuals and organizations to change state laws requiring Sex offender registries in the United States. Efforts fall into two main categories, advocacy for ...
.
Purpose
Michigan Citizens for Justice seeks to educate law-makers and the public that sex offenders should not all be treated the same, as they are a diverse group of individuals, and that contrary to popular belief, their general
recidivism
Recidivism (; from ''recidive'' and ''ism'', from Latin ''recidīvus'' "recurring", from ''re-'' "back" and ''cadō'' "I fall") is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of th ...
rate of 5% over 5 years is the second lowest of all offender groups, thus making onerous restrictions and the stigmatizing effect of public sex offender lists unfair and counterproductive when applied to all offenders without considering the individual risk and underlying facts of individual cases.
The group aims to provide support, encouragement, and information for working towards reforming the current laws and policies so that they will be based on scientific facts and will promote public safety, honor human dignity, and offer holistic prevention, healing, and restoration. The group holds that current state of
sex offender registries in the United States
Sex offender registries in the United States exist at both the federal and state levels. Registries contain information about persons convicted of sexual offenses for law enforcement and public notification purposes. All 50 states and the Distric ...
are a nationwide problem which ''"destroys futures and makes it questionable as to who is a threat to society and who isn't"'', by pooling offenders together and automatically labeling them as monsters, regardless of what the true nature of their offense was.
The group says that offenders should be treated differently according to the severity of their offenses and that the "Romeo and Juliet" type of offenders should not be punished as harshly as those convicted of more serious sex crimes.
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History
Michigan Citizens for Justice was started by Royal Oak
The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. C ...
mother, Francie Baldino after her teenage son was imprisoned for having sex with his girlfriend, who was 14 years old at the time, and after she realized the stigmatizing effect and harsh restrictions imposed on those labelled as sex offenders.
See also
*Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws
Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) is a nonprofit civil rights, legal reform, and support organization, with offices in Los Angeles and Sacramento. ACSOL advocates for civil rights for those required to register as sex offend ...
* National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws: NARSOL
*Arkansas Time After Time
Arkansas Time After Time (ATAT) is a Conway, Arkansas-based non-profit, all-volunteer civil rights and justice reform organization. It is funded by its members. It is a grassroots legislative advocacy group dedicated to making communities safer an ...
*Florida Action Committee
Florida Action Committee (FAC) is a non-profit advocacy and support organization for those on sex offender registries and their families based in Florida. Florida Action Committee is state affiliate of National RSOL, and part of the movement to ...
* Advocates For Change
*California Reform Sex Offender Laws
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
* USA FAIR, Inc.
*Illinois Voices for Reform
Illinois Voices for Reform is a non-profit advocacy and support organization for Illinois sex offenders and their families. It is dedicated to providing education on issues affecting sex offenders to the public and to legislators. Illinois Voices ...
* Women Against Registry - W.A.R
References
{{Reflist
External links
www.micitizensforjustice.comReform Sex Offender Laws, Inc.Registrants and Families Support Line
Sex offender registration
Non-profit organizations based in Michigan
Civil liberties advocacy groups in the United States