Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn, but in a rapidly changing world, there’s another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn. In our daily lives, too many of us favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt. We listen to opinions that make us feel good,…
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Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen…
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On August 27, 2026, the Pennsylvania Superior Court issued a published opinion in Commonwealth v. Shapiro, 2026 PA Super 188. The court held that people required to register (PRRs) cannot challenge SORNA’s “high risk” presumption by presenting evidence of their own low risk of reoffending. This closes off a strategy some had hoped to use to escape Subchapter H registration.…
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Commonwealth v. Osman, 81 MAP 2024 (Pa. July 21, 2026) On July 21, 2026, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that a person convicted of multiple Tier I and Tier II offenses in a single case cannot be sentenced to the mandatory three-year consecutive probation term under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9718.5(a). The decision was 5-2. Justice Donohue wrote the majority opinion.…
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Over the past year, PARSOL ran a campaign to hold the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) accountable to a law then-Governor Wolf signed in 2018, requiring PSP to implement a telephonic verification system for Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law registrants in Tiers II and III — those required to verify their information two or four times a year. After months of getting the…
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Two years ago, PARSOL released a survey that made us uncomfortable. We had asked sixty-one formerly incarcerated members about voting — this was in response to Pennsylvania House Resolution 47, which directed the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission to study voting patterns among released Pennsylvanians. More than half (54.2%) had been told their criminal record barred them from voting. A…
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Commonwealth v. Arnett, No. 19 MAP 2023 | Decided March 26, 2026 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a significant procedural ruling on March 26, 2026, in Commonwealth v. Arnett, clarifying that the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA) is not an available vehicle for challenging the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA II). The decision was authored…
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Advocacy organization says video of House Appropriations exchange illustrates why the legislature must demand accountability before approving new PSP programs HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (PARSOL) today responded to video from Tuesday’s Pennsylvania State Police House Appropriations budget hearing, in which State Representative Emily Kinkead (D-PA-20, Allegheny County) questioned Acting Commissioner Lt. Colonel George…
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At yesterday’s House Appropriations budget hearing, State Representative Emily Kinkead (D-PA-20, Allegheny County) asked Pennsylvania State Police Acting Commissioner Lt. Colonel George Bivens a direct question: why hasn’t PSP implemented the telephonic registration system that the General Assembly required — by law — back in 2018? She didn’t get a direct answer. We wish we could say we were surprised.…
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This week, PARSOL transmitted a formal policy memorandum to PA House Judiciary Committee leadership in advance of the upcoming Pennsylvania State Police budget hearings. The memo documents something that should concern every Pennsylvanian who cares about government accountability: the PSP has failed — for eight years — to reliably implement a program it was required by law to build. We’re…
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