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Panel Discussion Recap: Registry, Reentry, Restoration

November 30, 2024November 27, 2024

Reentry into society after incarceration is a journey fraught with obstacles. For individuals forced 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…

Bridging Humanity & Justice: A Trauma Informed Approach

November 27, 2024November 27, 2024

At the heart of the 2024 PARSOL Fall Conference’s opening plenary, Pennsylvania Executive Deputy Attorney General Robert Reed, Esq. delivered an impassioned address centered on justice, empathy, and systemic reform. This keynote captured the challenges marginalized individuals face and proposed transformative strategies to create trauma-informed systems that honor humanity. Reed’s presentation illuminated the path toward a compassionate and equitable society…

BREAKING NEWS: PARSOL Condemns the Tragic Killing of Jesse Grover, Victim of the Public ‘Sex Offender’ Registry

November 22, 2024November 23, 2024

For Immediate Release November 22, 2024 — The Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (PARSOL.org) mourns the tragic and senseless death of Jesse Michael Grover, a 31-year-old resident of Sharon, Pennsylvania, whose inclusion on the public “sex offender” registry for an offense more than ten years ago, appears to have made him a target for gun violence. Jesse was…

Domestic Travel On the Registry Challenges

October 15, 2024October 5, 2024

Involvement with the legal system in the United States can be a traumatizing experience. For those who have been found guilty of crimes of a sexual nature, this process almost always results in a massive upheaval of what is considered normal. The dread of what is going to play out in the courts, the shame of exposure, and the remorse…

Our Opinion: Supreme Court of PA Missed an Opportunity

October 5, 2024October 5, 2024

Back in June of 2023 we published an article Are the Courts the New Galileo? It focused on Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (SCOPA) shifting away from the popular “frightening and high” myth and moving to uphold the science that persons forced to register (“PFRs”) pose a very low recidivism risk. Justice Kevin Brobson was quoted when referring to the Court…

PARSOL Editorial: Truth First, Emotions Second

August 16, 2024August 16, 2024

In these past few years, I have learned that in a world where emotions often dictate our perceptions and actions, it is essential to reaffirm the fundamental importance of truth. While emotions are undeniably powerful and influential aspects of our human experience, they should not supersede the pursuit and acknowledgment of truth. The truth matters first and foremost, serving as…

Book Reviews: Under Our Roof & None of This is True

August 9, 2024August 16, 2024

Under Our Roof: A Son’s Battle for Recovery, a Mother’s Battle for Her Son by Madeleine Dean & Harry Cunnane Written by the mother-son duo of Pennsylvania Congresswoman Madeleine Dean and Harry Cunnane, the authors alternate chapters, each writing what they thought and felt while they were going through the son’s addiction to opioids and the journey through recovery. Madeleine…

Guest Post: I believe I was the target of a police sting

July 31, 2024July 31, 2024

Submitted by Atwo Zee, Registered Traveler Not long after I returned to Iowa after the 2024 NARSOL conference in Atlanta, I received an email forwarded by the national NARSOL office. This message came to them on their main “Contact Us” email address, and whoever sent it was looking specifically for me, “whose story “Unwanted Images” hit home when I was…

SURVEY RESULTS: Voter Disenfranchisement High Among Reentrants with Sex-Related Offenses

July 15, 2024November 2, 2024

Originally posted 5/3/24 – Updated 7/15/24 with JSGC information. Pennsylvania HR 47 is a 2023 Resolution directing the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study on voting patterns and knowledge about voting rights among formerly incarcerated qualified electors in Pennsylvania and submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the House of Representatives. In response to this…

The Value of Involuntary Treatment

July 10, 2024July 10, 2024

The management of those convicted of sex-based crimes after release has been largely effectuated through the enforcement of civil (rather than criminal) laws. The use of civil regulations as management tools has the distinct benefit of permitting criminal justice officials to restrict the freedom and privacy of sex offenders without abiding by the stricter procedural requirements that would be constitutionally…