AtlantaJournalConstitution : Georgia law puts non-offenders on sex registry.
Georgia’s sex offender registry has a peculiar twist: There are a growing number of people on the list who did not commit a sex offense.
The state’e sex offender law, one of the nation’s toughest, tracks most offenders until they die, dictating where they can live and work. The registry is designed to keep a leash on child molesters, rapists and other sex criminals, who often remain dangerous even after they’ve served their time. But the law applies to anyone convicted of kidnapping or false imprisonment of a minor, regardless if a sexual act was committed.
At 17, Darnelle Harvey took part in the robbery of a Dairy Queen in Chamblee. Brandishing a gun, he ordered a 16-year-old to lie down as the holdup progressed. This got him a false imprisonment conviction, and because the victim was under 18, Harvey became a sex offender.
The sex offender law has encountered legal setbacks. The Georgia Supreme Court has struck down certain provisions, including mandatory life sentences for offenders who failed to register a second time.
When convicts serve their sentences, their debts are paid, and they are generally free to live and work wherever they can find shelter and employment. But the sex offender registry is a kind of life sentence. Those on it cannot live or work within 1,000 feet of places children congregate, such as parks, schools, rec centers and swimming pools. (This is a violation of Equal Protection clause of the U.S. Constitution; unequal punishment)
About 90 people are on the sex offender registry for false imprisonment convictions and another 90 are on it for kidnapping.
