New Tennessee Legislation Sexual Offenses, Offender Registration, And Other Concerns August 2007

Themes  No More Mr. Nice Guy  We Know Who You Are. We Know Where You Live.  Eww! Gross!  You Better Watch Out

What They Aimed To Do  Impose the harshest possible penalties on the worst offenses  Make it impossible for sex offenders to escape notice  Crack down other deviant behavior

Harsher Penalties: What They Considered  Capital punishment for child rape offenses  Life without parole for rape of child, or for repeat offense  Minimum 25 year sentence for rape of a child  Longer sentences for other violent sexual offenses against children  Tougher penalty for statutory rape by authority figure  Tougher penalties for registration violations  Tougher penalty for promoting prostitution  Extended statute of limitations for certain offenses  Tougher penalties, no diversion, for sexual exploitation of a minor  No probation for offense of rape

What Passed: New Punishment For the Worst Crimes  Minimum 25 Year sentence for rape of a child  Felony murder rule now applies to any killing that results in the course of a rape or the attempted rape of a child  Certain other, repeat offenders will be deemed “Child Predators.” They must serve 100 % of sentence – no reduction, no parole  Persons convicted of child sexual exploitation must serve 100%, maximum reduction is 15%

Making It Impossible To Hide: What They Proposed  Require Lifetime Supervision And GPS, After Release From Prison For Rape Of A Child  Require GPS For Most Other Offenders On Probation Or Parole  Require Photo-ID, Indicating Offender Status  Require Lifetime Registration For Those Convicted Of Incest  Extend Registration Requirement To All Offenders And Eliminate Delays  Require DNA Of More Offenders And More Suspects  Require More Information With Registration  Make All Registry Information Public  Establish Neighborhood Notification When Offenders Move In  Tighten Requirements For Offenders To Report Status Changes  Make Sure That Petty Criminals Comply With Any Place Restrictions  Require Registration For Indecent Exposure, If The Victim Was Under 13  Require HIV Testing For Convicted Pimps

(Almost) Nowhere To Hide: What Passed  Every Sex Offender Must Now Register, No Exceptions  Offenders Must Report Changed Work Circumstances Within 48 Hours  Duty To Register Begins Immediately With Conviction  Misdemeanor Registrants Must Give DNA Specimen  Persons Charged With Violent Offenses Must Give A DNA Sample  Registered Sex Offenders On Probation For Unrelated Misdemeanors Must Be Identified And Supervised As To Place Restrictions  Incest Is Now A Violent Offense, Registration Is Required For Life  Every Registrant’s Data Is Now Public Information

Every Offender Must Register  No one is exempt now  Persons who were formerly exempt had until August 1 to register  All Offenders relocating to Tennessee must register; the requirement applies to: Offenders who establish any substantial “contacts” with this State, Who have any conviction elsewhere for conduct that would be a sexual offense in this State, Or any offense for which registration was required in another State, Regardless of the date of conviction or discharge from supervision

Reporting Changed Work Circumstances  Requirement Applies To: Termination, Resignation, New Work Or Practice Site, Changed Work Schedule Or Different Shift Assignment, Additional Employment Where The Change Lasts For 7 Days Or More  Changed Circumstances Must Be Reported Within 48 Hours

Duty To Register Begins Immediately Upon Conviction Applies To:  Persons convicted here, having sufficient contacts here  Persons convicted elsewhere, but having sufficient contacts here  Persons from elsewhere, who are convicted here.

Misdemeanor Sex Offenders Must Give DNA Specimen  DNA specimen requirement previously applied only to felons, generally  Offenders in jails and workhouses can be ordered to comply, just as felons in TDOC have been  Specimen is to be ordered with conviction

Persons Charged With Violent Offenses Must Give A DNA Sample  Application includes certain sex offenses  Sample is to be maintained by TBI  Sample must be destroyed if criminal charge is dismissed or the accused is acquitted, unless other charges are pending

Registered Sex Offenders On Probation For Unrelated Misdemeanors  Probation officers must determine if their misdemeanor probationers are on the registry  If so, the officer must Inform the sentencing court of the offender’s registered status, if it is such, and Supervise the offender’s compliance with place restrictions

Now That’s Just Gross (and we’re not going to put up with it any longer)  Sexual contact with animals is now a Class E felony Penalty applies to participating, promoting, aiding, causing, watching, & taking pictures  Indecent Exposure in a correctional facility is a now Class A misdemeanor Penalty applies to exposure “with the intent to abuse, torment, harass or embarrass a guard.”  Offenders who promote prostitution must submit to HIV testing (just as prostitutes and their clients have had to do for some time now)

Something Else To Think About  The privilege of self defense is stronger than it used to be The presumption of justification for using deadly force against an intruder now extends to vehicles and non-residence “dwellings.” Elsewhere, there is no duty to retreat from a threat; one may use such force as is (or seems) reasonably necessary to repel the threat  The privlege doesn’t apply, however, if you provoked the threat, consented to the threat, or if you, yourself, are up to no good when the threat appears  Offenders might want to consider that new risks may attend their behavior