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"Homeless Georgia Sex Offenders Directed to Woods"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the headline of this ABCNews report that provides the latest example of some of the real-world consequences of sex offender residency restrictions.  Here is how the piece begins: A small group of homeless sex offenders have set up camp in a densely wooded area behind a suburban Atlanta office park, directed there by probation officers who say it's a place of last resort for those with nowhere else to go. Nine sex offenders live in tents surrounding a makeshift fire pit in the trees behind a towering "no trespassing" sign, waiting out their probation sentences as they face numerous living restrictions under one of the nation's toughest sex offender policies.  "It's kind of like a mind-game, it's like 'Survivor,'" said William Hawkins, a 34-year-old who said he was directed to the campsite two weeks ago after being released from prison for violating probation by failing to register as a sex offender in Georgia...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on September 28, 2009 (boomark / email).