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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Pennsylvania State Representative Aaron Bernstine recently announced plans to close a gap in the state’s child protection laws. Unlike adoption and foster care, surrogacy currently allows people who are listed on the “sex offender” registry to become legal parents without background checks or judicial review. His bill targets the person who is the biological parent (sperm or egg donor). After…
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Following months of development, the Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (PARSOL) is excited to share the launch of the PARSOL Statewide Wiki. This collection of resources has been curated for Pennsylvanians with sexual harm convictions and affected by the “Pennsylvania Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act” (PA SORNA), sometimes (inaccurately) referred to as “PA Megan’s Law.” “This new…
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New Report Exposes the Ineffectiveness of Sex Offender Registries The Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center (SOLPRC) at Mitchell Hamline School of Law has released a comprehensive policy brief titled “Ineffective, Costly, and Harmful: Debunking the Sex Offense Registry.” This report is a significant addition to the ongoing debate about the efficacy and impact of Sex Offender Registration and…
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Reentry into society after incarceration is a journey fraught with obstacles. For individuals required to register on the Pennsylvania Megan’s Law registry, these challenges become even more formidable as stigma and restrictive policies compound the difficulties of finding housing, employment, and acceptance. At a recent panel discussion, experts, advocates, and justice-impacted individuals convened to discuss the path forward, sharing insights…
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PARSOL receives letters and phone calls from people who are on the registry and those facing being placed on the registry. Often these letters and phone calls include statements like, “I am a sex offender,” “My daughter is a sex offender,” “My husband is a sex offender.” News articles, legislative documents, legal documents, and even professional journal articles refer to…
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