May 10, Protest; April 10, Editorial: Keeping California's worst behind bars

[proverbialwisdom]

Last edited Sun May 11, 2014, 02:36 AM - Edit history (2)

https://www.facebook.com/nopillowcaserapeist

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http://theavtimes.com/2014/05/06/has-antelope-valley-become-a-dumping-ground-for-sex-offenders/

Has Antelope Valley become a ‘dumping ground’ for sex offenders?
by Jim E. Winburn • May 6, 2014

LANCASTER – Reacting to the potential release of serial rapist Christopher Hubbart into the community of Lake Los Angeles, local residents are concerned the Antelope Valley has become a dumping ground for sex offenders.

According to numbers provided by the Megan’s Law database, approximately 673 registered sex offenders reside in the Antelope Valley. This number accounts for roughly 6 percent of the 11,520 total registered sex offenders residing in Los Angeles County, according to the database.

However, these statistics provided by the Megan’s Law website do not accurately reflect the total number of registered sex offenders in the Antelope Valley.

876 registered sex offenders in the AV.

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http://www.dailybulletin.com/general-news/20140404/pillowcase-rapist-christopher-hubbart-to-live-in-palmdale-judge-says

By Wes Woods, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
POSTED: 04/04/14, 12:35 PM PDT |

...Hubbart, who was born and raised in Los Angeles County, hasn’t lived in the county since 1972, except 1993 when he was paroled to Claremont for two months. Hubbart has admitted to raping 40 women statewide between 1971 and 1982, including 26 women in L.A. County.

Incarcerated since 1996, Hubbard has been housed at Coalinga State Hospital.

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“Anytime you release a person that has this kind of dysfunction and poses this kind of threat to anyone it’s an outrage,” Lackey said. “And a system failure.”

In a statement, L.A. County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich described Friday’s decision as “outrageous.”

“It’s outrageous that an admitted sexual predator with a long history of brutal crimes against women will be released in this community – or any community,” Antonovich said. “He belongs in an institution where he cannot prey upon the public.”

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http://articles.latimes.com/2014/apr/10/opinion/la-ed-christopher-hubbart-serial-rapist-three-stri-20140410

Editorial
Keeping California's worst behind bars

The case of serial rapist Christopher Hubbart illustrates how the state needs a sentencing commission outside the political process to recommend sensible and balanced terms for offenses.

April 10, 2014|By The Times editorial board

Christopher Hubbart has had a hard time trying to find a place to live, and no wonder. He's a serial rapist who assaulted women in the 1970s and '80s, was convicted and released, only to rape again. He was committed indefinitely to a mental facility until such time as he was determined by authorities to no longer be a threat.

There was such a determination last summer, and it was upheld by a California court, but Hubbart waited while officials hunted for a place in Los Angeles County where he could live. The search was made more difficult by staunch opposition from Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey and Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. And good for them.

Hubbart is a poster child, but for what? Not for the tough-on-crime argument that California coddles its criminals. There is a vast difference between a repeat rapist like Hubbart and the thousands of felons who are locked up for long terms for nonviolent or less violent crimes, many of whom, unlike Hubbart, are amenable to rehabilitation. He is the symbol for why California should have a repeat offender law like "three strikes" — as modified wisely by voters in 2012 to ensure that only repeat violent criminals, and not petty offenders who may have violence in their pasts, are locked up for life.

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[freshwest]

1. Unlikely. States have won against some double jeopardy claims for indefinite detention after the

alloted sentences are completed, but some states have tried to get around it with mental health detention. In some states they have had to come up with other programs such as dumping them as may be happening in AV. And if it is a low income area, the chances are they will be dumped there.

That's been accused of being done in my state and as far as I know, nothing was done in the past. The state also has been said to pay for housing at motels with battered women with children, disabled persons and sex offenders all in the same complex. 'Molestor Motels' was what the press labeled them. I have not followed this for some time, though.

There are competing interests in these cases. The difficulty of getting them placed in homes or apartments or group homes, is budgetary expense and recidivism. A little bit of opportunity, from managing things on the cheap, and another crime may occur.

An example that went to court to protect the rights of offenders is described here at Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Commitment_Center

You can see the level of legal opposition against keeping people locked up past a specified end of sentence. No one should be lulled into thinking that offenders who are violent, have a long history of offenses and convictions, with a high likelihood of against committing crimes are not walking freely today. Notices are mailed out describing them, with pictures and a list of what they have done, that they are moving into an area. There is nothing one can do but be alert.

As far as making these criminals recieve life in prison, that has been extensively argued against as it is said to be more likely to cause the offender to kill the victim to elude imprisonment. Some of these persons are quite violent and unpredictable, and don't care about killing. We've had some instances.

I think the three strikes law would work if it could be passed. And I mean three victims, not a string of rapes, etc. per three different trials. But some will say they were forced to say they did the crime to avoid more jail time, or give some other reason that will create doubt. It will take a lot of
attention to get it passed. And in some cases, their family will be in court arguing for leniency or having them released to their custody. The law you are speaking about would deny that.

I've read that CA is trying to cut down on prisons, perhaps they would be sure to keep the most violent behind bars. I lived in Texas when the death penalty was cut off and when it was restored. What happened was not that people were so set on killing murderers, even serial murderers, or those who had killed or tortured children or older persons to death, or had killed them while doing a felony.

The issue was presented to the public of a few cases of men who were serial rapist/killers. They had been sentenced to life. The budget was cut and there was prison overcrowding which was found unConstitutional. They were let go because they had behaved well in the presence of armed guards and bars. I recall at least three cases where they went on a killing spree the same day they were released.

The outrage of persons being set loose who the public thought were going to be safely kept behind bars for the rest of their lives, was taken away. At the time, I wondered if the reason for letting serial killers loose was intented to destabilize society.

At this point, despite the statistics that claim that violent crime is on the way down, the drive to continue to defund states and demonize all the government, will put more of these people on the street. And people will arm themselves. But Americans appear to have accepted this state of affairs. We even have convicted rapists getting probation after short times in jails, despite jury decisions and sentences, or doing no time at all.

I hope the argument can be made to not dump those people in one area. But the more organized communities will push to keep them out. AV should organize to fight being a dumping ground, if it is a bad as you say. They may not all be violent offenders, but it happens. There were protests here, too. I don't think they changed their policies, though, but as I said it's been a while since I followed this. I had an attorney friend who worked with the ACLU who said that the maintenance of people past their sentences for treatment to get them to stop offending was illegal. The idea was that government could use unpopular persons to get public support to expand detention.

Sorry to have gone on so long, hard time collecting my thoughts.

[proverbialwisdom]

2. The 5/10/14 protest was 'in the news' yesterday. That's about all I know on the subject.

Also, an egregious case involving GPS monitoring failure was reported recently. Common sense suggests this issue matters.

http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/95841/

Published April 15, 2014, 08:51 AM

Police say California sex offenders wore GPS monitors during killings (w/ video)

(CNN) -- Two registered sex offenders charged with raping and murdering four women in Southern California while the men were wearing ankle monitors are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.
By: Ed Payne, CNN, CNN

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-transients-accused-killing-oc-women-sex-offenders-20140413-story.html

April 13, 2014

...Also unclear was how two men who were supposed to be tightly monitored could have gone on the alleged crime spree without being detected for so long.

[proverbialwisdom]

3. Update.

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-0524-oc-serial-killer-suspects-20140524-story.html

2 men accused in O.C. killings had close association, records show
May 23, 2014

Two sex offenders accused of killing four women in Orange County while being monitored by multiple agencies had a history of escapes and a close association that was prohibited, new records obtained Friday by The Times show.

Franc Cano and Steven Dean Gordon, both of whom served time in state prison for sexually molesting children, were arrested in April on multiple charges of rape and murder. They are accused of killing four women over a span of five months. The body of only one has been recovered. Police say they suspect there is a fifth, unidentified victim.

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[proverbialwisdom]

4. Update.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-pillowcase-rapist-released-palmdale-20140523-story.html

Judge orders serial 'pillowcase rapist' released to Palmdale area

By VERONICA ROCHA
May 23, 2014

Northern California judge has decided to allow a convicted serial rapist to live in unincorporated Palmdale despite opposition from concerned residents.

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In a statement issued after the ruling, Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said the judge's order failed to consider objections by law enforcement and community members who sent thousands of opposition letters.

“It's outrageous that an admitted sexual predator with a long history of brutal crimes against women be released in this community – or any community,” Antonovich said.

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[proverbialwisdom]

5. LA TIMES LOCAL: "State decided closer watch on sex offenders was too costly"

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-serial-killer-parole-20140804-story.html

California not following recommendation on parole agent caseloads

By PAIGE ST. JOHN, PALOMA ESQUIVEL
August 3, 2014

California never adopted the recommendation that the caseloads of agents supervising sex offenders be reduced, despite the urging of a blue-ribbon task force that was set up after an arrest in the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard, and the deaths of others at the hands of those under the state's watch.

Instead, agent caseloads remain at levels as much as twice what the task force deemed safe, while duties for those agents have been greatly expanded.

Parole supervision information released to the Los Angeles Times shows that the parole agents of two Orange County sex offenders, now charged in the deaths of four women, at times carried caseloads more than double those called for by the task force in 2010, exceeding the state's own internal rules.

The call to improve the workload of those charged with watching sex offenders was ultimately set aside as being too costly.

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