Want to Help? Start Here!

It is a common question, to see an injustice and know that something should be done, but the task seems so daunting that one gives up before even starting.  That is what an organization like this is all about, leveling the load, working together and demystifying the things needed to start changing the law.

Step One - Email Wisconsin RSOL  or Call 715-391-9229 The email will add you to the mailing list so that you can keep abreast of the current issues here in Wisconsin.  There will be notices sent out when new laws that pertain to our cause are introduced, when new information on offenders is published and any other pertinent group news.  (You can be assured that your address will remain private and confidential and never be used for the purpose of spamming.)

Step Two - Start to educate yourself.  You made it this far, there is a great deal to learn about the laws, the impact and the studies on offenders and their experiences first hand at the severity of these life sentences.  Good resources of information:
http://www.reformsexoffenderlaws.org/
http://wilawlibrary.gov/topics/justice/crimlaw/sexassault.php
http://sexoffenderresearch.blogspot.com/

Step Three - Learn who your State and Federal Representatives and Senators are.  Research their stance on the issues that concern the sex offender.  This kind of research will help you write more effective letters to them when the time comes.

Step Four - Make a new friend or two here, we all need support whether we are family of an offender, friends of an offender or the offender themselves. 

The way these laws are written they punish everyone including those that have committed no crimes, with the support from each other we can stand up, we can fight this and we can make a difference.  It is what our country was based on, fought over and become great upon.

_________________________________________________________________

Letter that is going out to ALL sex offenders in WI - It is slow going because stamps cost money but in small batches it is being mailed.  If you receive one or a family member receives one, take the time to respond.


Reform Sex Offender Laws in Wisconsin
EP3870 Galvin Ave
Stratford, WI 54484
Hello,
My name is Lara and I believe we have much in common. Let me begin by sharing with you that my husband is required to register as a sex offender. I would like to invite you and your loved ones to join me in the effort of effecting change by utilizing both the judicial and legislative processes. You are among the 21,000+ people that are subjected to the extremely punitive effects of the public registry. Just like me, your family is then caught in the crossfire of these laws and becomes the collateral damage. Our current members, consisting of registrants and their families, need for you to join us in this effort.
According to the data released in 2010 from the Department of Corrections and the United States Census Bureau, one of every ninety-nine males in our state is listed on the Sex Offender Registry. This number has grown since then and will certainly continue to grow if we just sit idly by hoping things get somehow get better. However, there is hope for change if we begin to educate our lawmakers, and undertake appropriate legal challenges. Keep in mind that Courts cannot intervene until laws are challenged. We, the registrants, must undertake appropriate legal challenges until courts recognize both the unconstitutionality and unintended consequences being inflicted. The penalties extend to everyone associated with registrants, including their minor children.
We have a two-pronged plan. First, we plan to organize a legislative campaign with the primary goal of preventing any additional requirements from being added by our lawmakers in Madison. This will require us to have a presence in Madison when bills related to registration are under consideration. Second, we hope to fund targeted litigation against the unconstitutional aspects of our current law. To accomplish these goals, we will need financial resources that we currently lack. We are reaching out for help from the registrant community because:  (1) we are the ones most impacted by these laws; and (2) there is no group or organization that is going to undertake this challenge for us.  
We understand that everyone does not have the time or the ability to lobby legislators or speak publicly. That is the reason it is imperative for us to pool our resources of talent, motivation, and membership fees to ensure that our voices be heard in our state capitol.  We need to approach our lawmakers as a cohesive group not just as individuals, it has been proven in the past that numbers turn the heads of our politicians and we certainly have the numbers.
Please support the effort to fight the laws. We can prevail if we work together to change the laws that publically humiliate not only the former offender but their families as well. Working together we can prevent any new misguided legislation from being passed. Become a member of Reform Sex Offender Laws in Wisconsin and become an active participant in our community to make meaningful change. We recognize that most registrants are not wealthy individuals, therefore, we are not asking for much. Please know that your monthly contribution of as little as $5.00 can make a huge difference when a little bit comes from everyone.
Sincerely,
Lara Kronberger
Wife of a Sex Offender
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32 comments:

  1. 2009 WISCONSIN ACT 131
    AN ACT to create 301.45 (2) (a) 6m. of the statutes; relating to: information provided by a person required to register
    as a sex offender.
    The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in
    senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
    SECTION 1. 301.45 (2) (a) 6m. of the statutes is
    created to read:
    301.45 (2) (a) 6m. The name or number of every electronic
    mail account the person uses, the Internet address
    of every Web site the person creates or maintains, every
    Internet user name the person uses, and the name and
    Internet address of every public or private Internet profile
    the person creates, uses, or maintains. The department
    may not place the information provided under this subdivision
    on any registry that the public may view but shall
    maintain the information in its records on the person.
    This subdivision applies only to an account, Web site,
    Internet address, or Internet profile the person creates,
    uses, or maintains for his or her personal, family, or
    household use.

    We must identify the sponsors of this law.
    Then ask the sponsors for the rational for such a law.

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  2. Lara K - wisconsinrsol@gmail.com8:50 AM, January 24, 2011

    By placing blame on the people that created this portion of the registration law is not what we are here to do.

    Education is key, how does this law affect those loved ones that have their privacy invaded because of this law? The excuse that is given to the registrants is "you should have thought about that before you committed this crime", that is all find and dandy if the law existed before the sentencing that individual received but that is not always the case. So we need to educate our legislators, tell them that these laws create a class of people that will be forever dependent on the government because employers don't want people listed on a public sex offender list working for them, they don't want to take on the liability, the stigma of them being there and the extra paperwork and hassle that is required to hire a registrant. This also means that instead of contributing to the tax base they are being FORCED to take from it.

    So while the questions are to the legislators is "why is this needed?" Where we really need to focus our efforts is on how to educate all the lawmakers so that they can fix the mistakes that were made in these laws and to amend them to not only keep the children safe by only listing the most dangerous online but an evaluation system in place to make sure that only the most dangerous remain online so that the list does not get diluted allowing those that are most dangerous to fall beneath the radar.

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  3. Thank you for your letter, it caught me by surprise.

    I can only relate to what the situation has been for me, and what happened, and such.

    I was 18, and now 30. I can't get a job anywhere, the paranoia, the fear. I hear the excuses of "We have to adjust our insurance for you, and we can't do that." I'm too much of a liability. I'm unmarried, no kids, still, cause I don't want to have more problems that the state can come after me with. The fear of someone being dragged down, a family broke apart, I will not commit to at all. Pathetic, to me, in a way. The only job I could do for the past 10 years, is drive semi-truck, and now thats gone due to health issues. Now I'm back to working around here, somewhere, somehow. Something I did when I was 18, determines the rest of what I do NOW, and the FUTURE.

    I'll never forget what I was told...

    "Don't worry, you get through this, and you'll never have to think about it again." -District Att. November 15th, 1999

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    1. My son is in the same situation. He commited his crime at 19 he is now 38. He is exttemely intelligent. Cannot find a job except at temp services. Living in a hotel. 0 level offender. Still treated like garbage.I am making it my mission to help change this situation. My heart goes out to you.

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  4. You are welcome... I know of many around the country that are in your boat as well.

    If you would like to get involved, even if it is not monetarily there is always something to do. Contact me at wisconsinrsol@gmail.com and I can give you my phone number or send me yours and I can call you to talk about volunteer opportunities with you.

    I am glad that my letter reached you... And with the help from all the registrants in WI we can truly make change.

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  5. well i dont know what to think bout this cause i believe if u do the crime u should do the time........

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    1. More punishment than murderers.this is why children are being molested then killed. if caught the consequences are total punishment in or out of prison.in prison they are raped with guards who suddenly have seeing problems.so now you know why children are molested raped & killed.if they do the time-do the time-time-time-time.then the states make sure by pointing them out,and making them targets for violence.how many have been killed and the killer gets less punishment than a drunk driver??????????

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  6. But when you have served your time and paid your debt to society should you get a second chance? Or have it be as things are now, be perpetually punished for the rest of your life with public humiliation and discrimination that happens today?

    When a person who has taken another person's life no matter if it was an accident or premeditated they serve their time, when they are released from custody they have the opportunity to start over, earn their place in society again. And they took the life of another.

    Even the mission statement for the DOC is to rehabilitate and reintegrate, but when someone is never allowed to reintegrate. Discriminated against, their families and friends discriminated against by association, is that what the DOC intended to happen? Is that what the lawmakers intended to happen? No their intention was to win the next election.

    What about the children that these laws are supposed to protect? When they are children of offenders, especially those that are listed publicly on a list, how do you think they are treated in school? Do you think they will ever know a normal childhood? This is happening all over the country, children losing out on their childhoods because one of their parents who may have only been dating their other parent have now been labeled for life.

    Yes if someone does a crime they should do the time, but when they have served it let it be over. If there must be a list let it be for the law enforcement agencies only. If you are worried about your children then pay more attention, break the cycles of abuse, know who your children are with. Educate yourself about behavior changes and have an open relationship with your child. And don't forget that even the US Department of Justice says that over 90% of sex crimes are committed by people that have usually never been convicted of a crime before and they are someone usually know to the victim and usually the family (or is family).

    Stop the cycle of abuse, both before and after the conviction. For perpetually abusing someone for the rest of their life whether it is by statute, physically, emotionally, verbally or any other method is still abuse no matter how you slice it. What we should have learned by now is that abuse only begets abuse, since when has any of that ever solved any problems?

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    1. Are son is presently in the Dodge correctional facility for a sex crime. He was offered a plea of 1 year jail and a non sex felony. He chose not to take it because he didn't do it. He was given a 4 1/2 year sentence . He is a 35 year old man with 5 years of college and had a great job. He feels are justice system is broke and are constitutional rights are all butt gone.. He was considered guilty from the start. A witch hunt. The evidence was not enough to convict him, and some jurors didn't feel he was guilty, but were bullied into a verdict of guilty. I am now going to take down my American flag and for now replace it with a "Don't Tread On Me" flag. I don't think our founding fathers would have a problem with what we have done with our country.

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  7. I am also a registered sex offender here in Wisconsin. My crime happened nearly 10 years ago and it was against my now current wife. I was back on probation more than a year ago and have now completed it, but I had my sex offender rules placed back on me even though I did NOT commit a sex crime. I do agree that the laws need to reformed!
    In my opinion, the sex offender registry is just now a "legal" way to keep track of everyone...
    I would like to help in some way if I can...

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  8. R. Ross,

    There are several things that can you can do to start participating! (even if money is tight and time is all you can really give) It is an election year and we need to start writing and calling our legislators as their voting public and let them know what we are expecting out of them. There is reading and monitoring the legislature's bills, I am sure I don't catch them all even with all the alerts that I have.

    Please contact me at wisconsinrsol@gmail.com and if you would like to get involved, there is something for everyone that is willing to do.

    I have heard from probationers about being sent to SOT because of a sex crime conviction from years past and having to essentially 'prove' over and over that they are not 'sexually deviant' thinkers. Then usually as time passed the rules would lighten up but at first they would be full on sex offender supervision rules. So that appears to not be that uncommon.

    Look forward to hearing from you! Have a great day!

    Lara K.

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  9. Read this article from the Post Crescent regarding registered sex offenders in Appleton.

    http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012305090157


    Someone needs to contact the Appleton police department and provided them with facts regarding the registry.

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  10. Here is a copy of the article from the link above regarding sex offenders in Appleton.

    APPLETON — Police will begin knocking on the doors of registered sex offenders in the city up to four times a year to prevent losing track of the criminals’ whereabouts.

    At any given time, law enforcement doesn’t know where 10 to 15 of the city’s 232 registered offenders live, Appleton police Sgt. Polly Olson said.

    Sex offenders must update the state whenever they move. In addition, the Department of Corrections sends sex offenders a form each year to fill out with their address and return in 10 days. If they don’t meet the deadline, they are out of compliance.

    When someone falls out of compliance, they are hard to track down, Olson said. The Department of Corrections doesn’t notify local police when someone fails to update where they live, she said.

    “There are times when these individuals could fall off the radar … sometimes six months to a year before we really know about it,” said Tom Smith, a sex offender registration specialist with the department.

    “It really requires each agency to do checking on a regular basis,” Olson said.

    To ensure this goal, Smith will help train 26 patrol officers and police school liaison officers over the next two months for a new registry verification program, where officers will check on offenders who are no longer on probation or parole — roughly 175 of the 232 offenders in the city, Olson said. Parolees and those still on probation are monitored more closely by the state and won’t have additional checks from Appleton police.

    Officers will knock on the doors of the convicted offenders between one and four times a year — the frequency will depend on factors such as the severity of the person’s crime — and will verify their address, ask about the vehicles they drive, and get their phone number and social media accounts, Olson said. The information helps officers build relationships with people and create a database to aid with future investigations.

    The new registry verification program won’t cost the police department additional cash because officers will check on sex offenders between calls, Olson said.

    Many Wisconsin cities have similar verification initiatives, including Kaukauna, Smith said.

    Statewide, there are 22,275 registered offenders. In Outagamie County, there are 457, according to the Department of Corrections. In many cities, officials don’t know training is available through the department for verification programs, Smith said.

    Although the offenders have served jail time for their crime, it’s still important to know where they live, Olson said. Losing track of where they are allows them the secrecy they often “crave,” she said.

    “By being able to live underground and people not knowing who they are or where they’re living allows them to continue (committing crimes),” Olson said. “We rely on that information in the registry as a safety component for people who live in the city of Appleton.”

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  11. I just wish i could find a decent place to live, city ordinaces say i cant live within a half mile of parks schools or daycares. this law makes no sense. if a person is willing to assualt i bet they are willing to walk 1 more foot then a half mile. not to mention over 90% of sexual assualts happen in the home and the percent that happens in parks schools or day cares is to low to be measured. i am so fed up. my so called victem was not even a child. her defense "to drunk to remember" my defense "to drunk to remember" for some reason i went to prison and carry a social stigma while the courts and state convinced her that she was a victem

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  12. Thank you for being a voice for us, the family. My brother is serving 50 years for sex offences that in cases the convicted only got 15 years. I am heart broken and tired of society telling me I should disown him for having a disease. I am thrilled I found your page.

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  13. If you would like to become involved or find out more information, email me: administrator@wisconsinreform.org.

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  14. Hope this site is still active (referring to your last post being from October of 2013)

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  15. the main website is still active. just not this comment section on this other page that is part of the main site. Don't forget the main site: www.wisconsinreform.org

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  16. I would like to be apart of this movement as I am a convicted sex offender who's currently trying to get back in the courts about this gps . Would you please email any info you have on this matter.... kmurrell.mfhi@yahoo.com

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  17. Hello, I work for a non profit organization , I currently work with the sex offenders on finding housing , it was already hard now it is harder because people don't want them in their community . I want to what I can do to get things changed so that the sex offenders can have a chance on living and be apart of the second chance population -What can I do who can we right

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    Replies
    1. I would luke to help.
      baldaufhayes@gmail.com
      Barbara

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  18. For the local residency restrictions in each locale, the board that created the ordinance will be the ones that will need to be written. There is a push again by a legislator and a mayor to try to pass state wide residency restrictions. Although in the past that has been shot down due to the conflicting nature it would have on the legislated rules that govern the Department of Correction that states that offenders need to go back to the community in which their crime was committed.

    The big thing is to teach them that residency restrictions do nothing to protect children. It gives the illusion of safety and a huge burden to the state, the families of offenders and their ability to make a living, find suitable housing and a safe place to live themselves. Let us not forget the recent arson on a Department of Corrections rental because someone was supposed to move in to the residence. This kind of vigilante behavior threatens the lives of children that could have been living there or had been near by.

    If you would like to know more, please email administrator@wisconsinreform.org

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  19. There belief is they are helping children. They are hurting the children

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  20. Lara... I just had a little time to do some reseach and ran across this page. I do feel your pain even though I am not the WIFE of a "registered sex offender" I am a mother. My son was 18 (and 19) who dated a classmate, him a senior and her a freshman. Her parents were ok with the relationship and allowed him into their home. This was 7 years ago. He sat 4 years in prison and has 4 years of probation, 1 year left. He has to register for life. He still lives at home as his PO has to approve where he can live and has yet to approve anywhere else but home. He will NEVER recommit but is being punished for a lifetime. When this first happened to him I wrote to my state officials, who responded stating that they know I am not the only person with these concerns. I have written several letters and do not get anyhwere. This rips my heart out to watch my boy live like this. He was a straight A student, a wrestler who went to state and placed 3rd, wrestled on the Wisconsin team in Australia and was an all around great kid. Now, now we deal with depression and no self confidence. I can thank our system for wasting tax payers money on a person who will no re-offend but now struggles in life everyday!!!

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  21. Milwaukee County is one of the worse counties to live in as a sex offender. The residency restrictions are terrible and the list of approved or available housing that is available at city hall are mainly abandoned lots. Every night when my hubby goes to work, I watch him get into the car, he calls me to and from work and on his brakes. We both have this fear, that someone that is not educated is going to find out his conviction and assume the worse. We live in fear constantly,never knowing if today is going to be the day he gets hospitalized for his conviction. He did 5 years in prison. Currently still on Supervision. He has no violations with the DOC, but at times is treated if he has a million. How do we fix our system?

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  22. The best way is for family and friends to make their voices heard. Call your local representatives, tell them your stories, tell them the hardships that the registry and the label puts on all that are associated with a registrant.

    When a murderer is released from prison they are not put on a public list, so that we all might be safe from a known killer. Seems like an unfair comparison until you look at the statistics that represent recidivism for both kinds of offences, they are very similar and very low, under 5%. Whereas your average drunk driver has a 50% recidivism rate and those are only the ones that keep getting caught.

    Educating the lawmakers, so they make smart, educated decisions making our state safer rather than more unsafe, for those same statistics show that if you continually make someone unstable by basically terrorizing their lives continually well after they have served their sentence is just as big of a crime.

    So call your representatives, local, state and federal, tell them about the hardships you currently face as well as the hardships that are coming from others that have walked the same path that you are already on, and show them that you have a voice. Remember you are a voter, they want you to vote for them again, it is their sole motivation.

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  23. There is empirical evidence to prove that corrupt politicians, ranging from police officers, district attorneys, judges, senators, legislators,and governors who have been convicted of violating their oath of office and peoples (trust) from the mid 7o's to 2017 has increased exponentially. So why not a registry for convicted officials not only current and future, but past convicted officials as retroactive. And call the registry (POR) Public Official Registry

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  24. I believe that if this kind of registry were possible, I think our legislators would think twice before violating our state and Federal constitution

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  25. My point is, I believe that our government official would certainly think twice before violating our Federal constitution, and States Constitution if the shoe was on the other foot

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    Replies
    1. Actually, in Wisconsin, a drunk driver registry for all OWI and DWI offences and there would be a public out cry from the politicians here in this state. There are some serious offenders that are and have been in our State government.

      One thing to remember, all of us have been on a registry all of our lives, it's call Social Security, when men are 18 they register for Selective Service. We register with the DMV so they know what kind of car we drive and what who we are. Don't get me wrong, I hate the SOR, but I have come to realize that the only way to rid ourselves of it is for enough people to end up on it so that it is so diluted that it become irrelevant and no one will pay attention anyway.

      In the meantime litigation can be utilized if the discrimination against offenders and their families continues to increase, which could circumvent the inevitable which is saturation of the SOR to the point of irrelevance, litigation could get the registry curtailed or possibly removed from the public eye. But it is unlikely to go away completely, just its availability to the public.

      If lists were a violation to our Constitution they've been breaking them for far longer than the SOR has been around. What is illegal is the discrimination that comes because of it, not only for the person listed but their family and friends. Because of those things, it makes it punitive punishment. What needs to be changed is the classification of what the SOR is. It is punitive punishment even if SCOTUS has ruled that it is civil and not punitive. What this means that it has to be shown in court and proven that a person and their family have suffered monetary loss due to their name being on the registry. This is exceedingly hard to do, as simple as it sounds, proving it on paper is quite another thing.

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