RISING FROM THE ASHES: A MESSAGE OF HOPE AND UNITY

RISING FROM THE ASHES: A MESSAGE OF HOPE AND UNITY

By: Derek "The Fallen One" Logue
December 12, 2007

Introduction

This is the speech I was to give at the Silent No More Rally in Columbus, Ohio on December 1, 2007, but
due to scheduling conflicts was unable to give. I now offer the speech here in hopes that the few who read
this site to seek answers or assistance may find hope and strengthen you to take up the fight against
these increasingly oppressive laws. This was originally posted at www.oncefallen.com, but moved here because it is a better fit.

The Speech

Today we stand in the hostile weather and against a more hostile crowd in a show of unity because we
truly believe in being "silent no more." I truly believe there is great power in a public show of unity, not only
for the greater good, but for ourselves and those in our situation as well. Through this public stand, we
strengthen those who are afraid to take a stand or feel they are all alone in this battle. I bear witness to
this fact, and will share with you the following story.
One year ago, almost to the day, I was just settling into a new apartment. I was forced to move from my
first apartment, an apartment pre-approved by the sheriff I might add, after the Hamilton County
Prosecutor's office evicted me. I had spent over a year and called around 200 landlords before I found a
new place that met the state's residency requirements. My mother and I were still unpacking from the move
when we heard the city of Cincinnati was having an open forum to discuss a proposal to increase
residency restrictions in the city. Immediately my mom and I grabbed the camcorder and hopped the bus
downtown. I managed to get on the speaker's list; I would be the last person to give a three minute speech
that day.
As you can imagine, every speaker applauded the proposal, with the exception of representatives of the
Ohio Justice and Policy Center. Councilman Chris Monzel, the one who drafted the proposal, called it "a
great Christmas present for the children of Cincinnati." Another person boldly proclaimed all sex offenders
should get the death penalty. Nearly a dozen speakers all repeated similar sentiments. Finally came my
time to speak. I told them I was a registered sex offender who had not re-offended in the four years since
my release; I addressed the fallacy of sex offender myths and the efficacy of residency restrictions.
Immediately my simple three minute speech changed the entire course of the fight against the ordinance.
After the meeting, a reporter from Channel 5 shook my hand and told me, "You've got guts." I was
interviewed on the local news; I was encouraged that the local media at least gave not only my views on
the law, but gave the truth about the low recidivism rates of sex offenders as well. No one targeted me for
speaking out; in fact, those who recognized me from the news congratulated me for speaking out. Most
importantly, I saw a great change in the direction the city council meetings had taken since that day I first
spoke out. I had attended two more meetings, and the chambers were filled with individuals speaking out
against the ordinance, including other sex offenders. As a result, the council made significant changes to
the ordinance, adding a grandfather clause allowing allow sex offenders to remain in their current
residences, and remove parks from the prohibited zones.
The fact that anyone, including sex offenders, spoke out against the law is amazing in itself, but it took one
man to start the change. I later discovered that nearly a dozen registered sex offenders attended that first
city council meeting, but I was the only one who had the "audacity" to speak out. That one act set a great
change in motion, strengthening the weak, encouraging the fearful, and guiding the lost. All it takes is one
snowflake to start the avalanche, one straw to break the camel's back, one drop to send the bucket
spilling over. You can be the one.
Every time we stand at a rally, share our knowledge with another individual seeking answers, debunk the
myths propagated by the media, or contact your legislators, you are that one, that visible presence that
strengthens, that encourages, that unites. Our numbers may be small now, but we are indeed making a
difference. Every major movement was accomplished with both a few large steps and countless smaller
steps. Each of us have a role to play. But we must stand strong and not falter, to show bravery when we
are scared to death inside, and show unity even if we have petty disputes with others on our side of the
cause. This is the time to put those differences and fears aside and devote yourself fully and wholly to the
task at hand.
Regardless of whether any of you believe in the Christian Holy Bible or not, the Good Book has a lot of
historical value; it is a testament to the unchanging nature of man. History is filled with wars, strife, people
who committed great atrocities, some in the name of a some just cause or of their god or gods. But the
Bible is also a message of hope, filled with great deeds and acts of great mercy.
Without a doubt, the central figure of the Bible is Jesus Christ. Many people have a vision of Jesus as
"meek and mild." I have a problem with this "meek and mild" image.; it implies weakness, running away
from conflict, not fighting back when attacked. But if you read the Gospels closely, The Biblical Jesus was
not as "meek and mild" as many believe. Theologian Dr. Scott Hahn's dissertation on John chapter 6,
known to Catholic Christians is the "Bread of Life Discourse," offers the best example for Jesus as
anything but meek and mild.
Earlier in the chapter, Jesus performed two famous miracles, the feeding of the five thousand and walking
on water. Now Jesus offers up to his followers an even better deal, "the food that endures for eternal life."
This obviously piques the interest of the followers, so they ask Jesus for this bread of life. Jesus replies, "I
am this bread of life, and those who consume this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give is
MY FLESH for the life of the world." I can only imagine the faces of the followers, faces frozen in disbelief
in what they were hearing. They said in disbelief, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Now
consider this: Did Jesus back peddle? Did Jesus replace his speech with some watered down politically
correct version of his previous statement? The answer is no; in fact, Jesus repeats this phrase four times
over, "you must eat my flesh and drink my blood," for it is the bread of life. The followers' responded, "this
saying is hard; who can accept this?" Many disciples left. Jesus knew full well this saying shocked the
consciences of his followers, and risked losing thousands of disciples for the sake of his message. Hardly
the message of a meek and mild person.
Whether you believe Jesus was the Son of God or just an ordinary man, His message holds true for our
fight. In Matthew 10:34-42, Jesus gave a passage to which we should pay close attention, because this
passage really applies to our fight:

1. Jesus said, "I have come not to bring peace but the sword." The time for being humble has passed;
   the time to take a stand is now. A friend and fellow sex offender I helped out in the past asked me
   one day, "why do you fight?" I responded by asking him why he doesn't fight. He replied "I just want
   to live out my life without being messed with by the people." This man was homeless; he had to
   check in every weekday with the sheriff's office to tell them where he sleeps every night. He didn't
   realize the week before our conversation, the local news ran an expose on homeless sex offenders
   as "a loophole in registry laws," and he was the star of the show. The entire news report was on this
   man. Eventually someone recognized him from the report and got him arrested. While he was living
   on the streets and now in jail, I have a roof over my head, which I had fought hard to keep. That
   alone should be testimony enough to show the need to take up the fight.
   
2. "Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me." We must commit to
   our cause without a shed of doubt, fear, or any other reservation. We have a great burden, or a
   "cross," as Jesus put it, to carry. This burden should not hinder us, but inspire us to fight back. We
   must show resolve under threats, intimidation and harassment, resolve as we stand up to a society
   that desires to humiliate, mutilate, and destroy us, and to drown out the voices of hate and loathing
   with our own message. We cannot run from our cross; we must carry it with all our might if we are to
   have any hope of relief for the cross.
   
3. "Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me." We
   are one, and when we call a congressman, attend a rally, or spread the truth in a blog, you are not
   just yourself, you represent us all. You are not alone. More importantly, each act, whether great or
   small, brings us closer to the goal. The tide is turning, slowly but surely. For example, The state of
   Iowa passed and enforced 2000 foot residency restrictions in 2005. The laws had a number of
   unintended consequences; in the one year since the residency law passed, the number of
   absconded RSO increased for 150 to 400, and the number of homeless RSO reached epidemic
   proportions, as many areas of the state were off-limits. In that same year, the number of sex crimes
   against children actually increased, and there was only one stranger sex crime against a child that
   year. All of a sudden, the state police AND the county prosecutors association began a campaign to
   abolish the laws, a battle continuing to this day. Now the woman responsible for creating and
   passing the first registry laws, Patty Wetterling, is seeking sweeping changes in sex offender laws
   and openly critical of the efficacy of these laws. People are more receptive to our message now
   more than ever. And every effort we put forth, whether it reaches just one person or a one million,
   leads us closer to our equality and relief from these oppressive laws.
   

I would like to leave you with this final thought. Since the day I was arrested for a sex crime in 2000, I have
referred to myself as the "Fallen One." One day one of my counselors asked me when I will no longer be a
fallen one and be more like a phoenix. This message I now pass on to you. For too long we have been
"fallen ones." But this day I implore you to gather the ashes of our lives, pick up your wings, and rise from
the ashes as a phoenix.

The End
Time: 10 minutes

Retort to recent Wendy Murphy article

This morning, Wendy Murphy, TV commentator and law professor, released an article entitled "WENDY MURPHY: Sex offender laws flawed but critical" in the Patriot-Ledger [http://www.patriotledger.com/opinions/x1080448945/WENDY-MURPHY-Sex-offender-laws-flawed-but-critical] . Below is my response, which I had to post in pieces at the site. But I DID sent it to her via e-mail.
___________________________________________________

Wendy Murphy was the one who famously said during the Duke Lacrosse/ Nifong case, "I never met a false rape claim, by the way. My own statistics speak the truth." [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13165471]. It ended up being a case of malicious prosecution. There are many flaws in this article that needs addressed.

The Dallas Morning News found over 4000 people on the Texas registry who were minors at the time they were added to the sex offender registry, some as young as age 10! A recent article stated Michigan had over 2000. There are many websites dedicated to these cases as well [see http://www.oncefallen.com/CriminalizingTeenSex.html for many examples].

In regards to recidivism rates amongst registrants, even the most negative studies state recidivism rates much lower than Murphy is claiming.

US Department of Justice, “Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released into the Community in 1994.”

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/rsorp94.pdf

* Three-year follow-up period
* 9,641 sex offenders released in 15 states
* 262,420 non-sex offenders released in same 15 states in 1994
* 517 sex offenders (5.3% of all sex offenders) were arrested for a sex crime within 3 years
* 3,228 non-sex offenders (1.3% of all no-sex offenders) were arrested for a sex crime within the same three year
period
* 3.5% of sex offenders re-convicted

A more recent study found similar results after 10 years:

http://www.casomb.org/docs/RECIDIVISM%20OF%20PAROLED%20SEX%20OFFENDERS%2010%20year.pdf

* Recidivism after 1 year of release: 2.21%
* Recidivism after 2 years of release: 2.94%
* Recidivism after 5 years of release: 3.3%
* Recidivism after 10 years of release: 3.38%
* NOTEWORTHY FINDINGS: The total of sexual recidivists is lower than some might have believed. Most re-offenses and parole violations occur in the initial period of reentry after release. Sex offenders are more likely to commit some other type of offense than to commit a new sex offense.

Sex offenders have hundreds of victims is one of the biggest myths in the issue. It was a misread of an outdated Gene Abel study which relied on self reporting, which is highly inaccurate, and even so, Abel did not determine number of victims but lifetime acts of "paraphilias," which included certain acts once considered deviant but no longer, such as consensual homosexual relations. [see: http://www.oncefallen.com/SOMyths.html].

Vigilantism is a very real threat, as studies have shown up to 40% of registrants and and equal number of their loved ones, such as their spouses and their own children, have experienced threats, assaults, property damage, and murders. In fact, there is a blog dedicated to murders of sex offenders [http://on-murders.blogspot.com/] and on vigilantism against registrants and families [http://politically-sparked.blogspot.com/].

In regards to time served, in the Department of justice, the average sentence length was 8 years, but other states report longer sentences, which will only increase with mandatory minimums. As with other mandatory minimums, there are worries of abuses and loss of discretion with relatively minor cases (such as a "Romeo and Juliet" case), and may even deter reporting of sex crimes [see http://www.famm.org/UnderstandSentencing/WhattheExpertsSay.aspx for opposition to mandatory minimums for drug cases, which were once the great stigma of society].

It is time we revisit the registry and really determine its true value. Two recent studies from New York and New Jersey have shown the registry is no deterrent for crime, and the New Jersey study pointed out that 95% of sex crimes were committed by first time offenders. Even Maureen Kanka admitted the intent of the registries is not to reduce recidivism. [see: http://www.oncefallen.com/registriesrevisited.html].

Lets tell the truth here. The real intent of the registry is to name and shame those who committed sexually deviant acts. The registry does not promote healing, neither for the offenders nor for the victims. Instead, the public registry is a tool for social ostracism and vigilante violence. In our zealousness we have thrown caution to the wind and have passed laws based on what feels good rather than what works. The result has been disastrous. The result of one law has formed a camp of registrants living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway in Miami [http://www.oncefallen.com/juliatuttlecauseway.html]. The result of one law has placed a 16 year old on the registry for consensual relations with another teen, listed as a "sexual predator" [see www.rickyslife .com]. The registry led Stephen Marshall to gun down to registrants in Maine. One of his victims was convicted at 19 for consensual sex with a girl just weeks from her 16th birthday [http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=1855771]. And now we're trying to make it worse by forcing the Adam Walsh Act upon society-- mandatory minimums, placing more people on the registry for life, civil commitment, increased federal jurisdiction, immunity and millions to the NCMEC, GPS, and a public non-sex child abuse registry. None of these will work. Treatment and rehabilitation works. So does a truthful education and prevention program such as Stop It Now! and the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center. Anything less is a sugar pill for a cancer patient.

The Mess in Miami: The consequences of ill-fated legislation

Below is an article I posted up on Oprah's community blog and Author's Den regarding residency restrictions and the situation under the Julia Tuttle Causeway. You can read more about the Julia Tuttle Causeway at http://www.oncefallen.com/juliatuttlecauseway.html

http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?AuthorID=106280&id=50258

http://www.oprah.com/community/blogs/silenthill/2009/08/21/the-mess-in-miami-the-consequences-of-illfated-legislation
Oprah films at the homeless sex offender camp at Julia Tuttle Causeway in Miami, which has become a national symbol of the excesses of ill-fated sex offender residency restrictions.

The Mess in Miami: The consequences of ill-fated legislation

Posted on Aug 21, 2009 1:52 AM on my personal blog on the Oprah Winfrey site.

In my five years as an advocate for the Former *ex Offender, I have heard the same suggestions over the years as to what to do with released *ex offenders -- Kill them, castrate them, banish them, and so on. At the least, we support an increasing number of laws against them, from public registries to civil commitment to GPS to residency restrictions. After over a dozen years of retributive measures, we are starting to see the negative consequences of laws written in response to social panics rather than proven fact.

Unless Oprah changes her mind, there will be a report on the registrants forced to live under the Julia Tuttle Causeway (JTC) in Miami in a future episode of the Oprah show, as a film crew was recently filming at the JTC. For three years, those convicted of *ex offenses are required to live under the JTC because more than 99% of south Florida is off limits thanks to a 2500 foot residency restriction law. This sad scenario has become a national (even global) embarrassment, a living testament to the extremes we have taken in the name of public safety. Most likely you will see powerful Florida lobbyist Ron Book, the very man who championed the restrictions, point fingers at the state for the dilemma. Book is also head of the Homeless Trust in Miami, yet for years denied these individuals even the most basic of needs. In fact, every politico involved in this debacle is pointing fingers all around.

Many of you won't care, flooding Oprah with the same "they are getting what they deserve" comments that usually fill forums and message boards around the country. However, I think maybe we should care. I believe it is time we really consider what is working and what is not working in preventing *ex crimes in the first place. For decades, this country has been inundated with myths about the very nature of *ex crimes and the people who commit these crimes. We've passed legislation in the names the victims of high profile tragedies, heralding each law as a panacea until the net tragic case makes headlines. The end result is laws which have made it nearly impossible for any convicted *ex offender to earn an opportunity to reintegrate and become a productive member of society after his or her timeis served.

Reintegration and a stable post-release existence is integral for many reasons. The most important reason is stable housing, employment, treatment, and social networking are bulwarks of reducing recidivism amongst *ex offenders (or any ex-offender for that matter). Contrary to what we've been taught, *ex offenders have the lowest rate of recidivism of any crime, and that number can be reduced even further by proper treatment of those who have *exually offended. Furthermore, by focusing on those on a public list, we tend to forget that the vast majority of *ex crimes are committed by someone the victim knows, like a close friend or family member, and that most are not on the public registry. And in our zeal to eradicate molestation and rape, we have made the laws so sensitive we have arrested children as young as age 10 and placed on sex offender registries. The Dallas Morning News recently reported that over 4000 individuals on the registry were placed on the registry when they were minors. And the Adam Walsh Act, the very same bill Oprah implored her viewers to flood Congress to support and fund, forces states to register minors as young as age 14 or face a 10% cut to federal Law Enforcement grants. Just think, your teenage son could be registered for life for consensual relations with his teenage lover! (For an example simply google "Ricky's Life")

The one thing noticeably absent from discussions about *ex crimes is prevention. We have been led to believe post release *ex crime laws are "prevention," but they are not. True prevention is a multifaceted approach which requires educating the public truthfully on *exual matters. Our culture treats S-E-X as a dirty word to the point we can't even type it in most forums, and when it comes to our own youth, we let their peers, the internet and mass media teach our youth about the "s" word. But even in those rare discussions of sexuality are discussed, no one even considers discussing the other sex-related issues, like how to deal with improper sexual feelings and behaviors. In fact, the very laws we've enacted to prevent *ex crimes are the laws which prevent those struggling with sexual problems to seek help until it is too late.

If society took a treatment-oriented approach to this issue, we'd see far better results than the vengeance-oriented approach we have promoted for over a decade. It is not about sympathizing with the convicted *ex offender or condoning what they have done (or the favorite claim "supporting pedophilia"). However, they have served a sentence for their time and was released into society, their debts to the state paid. I don't expect anyone to open up their homes to a registrant; however, they should be given an opportunity once released to reintegrate and become productive members of society.Even Patty Wetterling, the woman who championed the first national sex offender registry through Congress in 1994, has spoken out against tough feel-good measures. She implores us to get smart rather than tough on sex crimes.

Derek Logue, author of the book "Once Fallen," famously stated in a fight over residency laws, "Where are we supposed to live?" In Miami, the answer is the Julia Tuttle Causeway. Eighty people forced under a bridge in the name of noble but misguided crusade. Consider how Iowa recently repealed residency laws after a significant increase in homelessness and absconding registrants, while *ex crime rates remain the same. Kansas passed a moratorium against residency restrictions because of Iowa's problems. A series of studies from Colorado and Minnesota also found residency laws do not work; in fact, the studies concluded these laws may possibly increase recidivism. Even Florida Senator Dave Aronberg stated residency laws are ineffective and counterproductive (before suggesting the state increase residency restrictions). And now, even Ron Book, the one who put many of the registants under the JTC, admits the laws have backfired. However, like Logue, no one has received a straight answer to the question.

So where are they supposed to live? Ron Book's "solution" was an abandoned county jail or an empty parking lot 35 miles away, far away from the cameras of the worldwide media. It took worldwide attention and an ACLU just to begin a move to find housing for 80 people. However, when those eighty are out of the spotlight, what will happen to them? And where will those ready to be released from prison also go? While peoplelove to make the same comments, the fact is many people will be released from prison for *ex crimes. Ask yourself which is more important -- Revenge or Results? Reason or Wrath? If the goal was truly about protecting children instead of exacting revenge, then we would work towards a path of healing, not just for the victims but for those who have offended.