CRUEL AND UNUSUAL: HOUSE ARREST WITHOUT A HOUSE
Raphael Marquez would rather live in the Broward County Jail than under a bridgeToday's travesty comes in the form of one Raphael Marquez, courtesy of the Florida Legislature.
Mr. Marquez was released from Florida State Prison on June 23rd, after serving roughly seven years on a sex offense. His sentence also includes two years of house arrest with a GPS monitor, and a decade or two of probation. Click here for his Department of Corrections profile.
If you follow the news you know the problems sex offenders face finding places to live. There are so many restrictions, and so few shelters that take sex offenders, that they often end up living on the streets. That's what happened to Mr. Marquez, whose family lives in New York.
More often than not, sex offenders without family don't make it in the community, and not because they commit new crimes. The reality is they end up quitting, because they can't take it anymore. They have nowhere to live, they can't find work, and the inevitable downward spiral follows. They ultimately cut the band and disappear, and then get shipped back to prison when they're caught.
The difference with Mr. Marquez is that he's trying. He wants to become a productive member of society, but he realized he couldn't do it without a place to live while on house arrest.
Since he's been out, he also couldn't find a job. That meant he couldn't find anyplace to charge the GPS monitor, which, when it runs down, creates an instant violation. He was almost to the point where he couldn't afford the bus fare to see his probation officer, which, of course, would mean more violations. His probation officer, for his part, reportedly told him to "go live under a bridge."
Mr. Marquez said no.
Instead, he called his lawyer, and set a hearing before Judge Gold today. He wanted to convert his two years of house arrest to jail time. The Judge, the State, and the in-court Probation Officer were flabbergasted, but no one could come up with a community based solution. His lawyer, Cheryl Koewing, had already searched all the half-way houses and shelters, but couldn't find anywhere that would take him. Reluctantly, all the parties agreed to modify his probation by deleting the house arrest component, and replacing it with six months in the Broward County Jail, after which he would be on sex offender probation. Mr. Marquez went to jail earlier today.
Probation is checking to see if Mr. Marquez can transfer his supervision to New York, so he can stay with his family instead of doing jail time. It's a long shot, since New York is famous for refusing these kinds of cases. Tracy Gold, of BSO's Department of Community Control, is also trying to find a shelter somewhere in the county that will take him, but it's another long shot.
While it's true that nobody wants to live next door to a sex offender, it's also true that the pendulum has swung so far to the right that the laws don't make any sense anymore. It's a classic, insurmountable Catch-22, as Judge Gold remarked. In the meantime, the papers will continue to run stories about the failure of Florida's sex offender laws, and people like Mr. Marquez will continue to be cut down at the taxpayers' expense until something changes in Tallahassee.
While I agree with you on many of your rants (residue cases suck, addicts dont belong in jail...ect) I feel zero pitty for these perversts that like to have sex with kids. Can you blame employers for not wanting to hire them? or people for not wanting them in their neighborhood? Sorry most people do not care (and Im not sure they should care) about the plight of people who like to abuse the most vulnerable people in society, children.
Why don't they build hotels for these pervs?
Patrick Poole , avigdor horky , jay bybee , stan marcus and yossi peled need a place to prey .
See, the issue isn't that the legislature has gone too far with these offenders....they haven't gone far enough.
What we really need to do is expand the death penalty to cover all people that are going to wind up on the sexual offender/predator registry. Life imprisonment is too expensive. These animals will never get cured anyway, so why waste the taxpayer dollars on keeping them locked up when a simple series of 3 injections would solve this problem.
That way, we can avoid the problem of finding a place for these people to plug in their GPS systems. Final and complete solution to this problem.
_________
If you reached this point in the post without recognizing the dripping sarcasm, I have pity for you.
Yes, our system is a "do the crime, do the time" --- but is every offense the legislature decides to include on the sex offender/predator list supposed to be a life sentence?
Pissing along the side of the road?
Romeo and Juliet cases like the one that Charlie Crist is contemplating a pardon on (where the "perp" married the "victim" and they've been married for 15 years or so by now).
I can think of few crimes more horrifying than a sex crime committed against a child. But unless the legislature is going to decide those are all capital crimes or crimes with nly life imprisonment without possibility of parole or release, they need to contemplate a manner by which those who have completed their time get brought back into society.
Forcing them to live under a bridge solves nothing.
Forcing them to move from place to place every time a school, bus stop, day care, etc. comes within 1,000, 2,500 or 5,000 feet solves nothing.
Judge Gold is right -- it is a potentially insurmountable Catch-22.
Does anyone have any realistic solutions though?
Sorry for the serious post. Now we can all get back to the d*ck jokes.
Pissing on the side walk is NOT a sex offense. Romeo and Juliet cases more often than not get pled out to lesser charges that do not make the person a sex offender. Most people dont feel bad for people that had sex with a kid. Sorry Bill- Pick your battles... I think you have a great point with all the drug stuff... but if you start preaching about these "poor" sex offenders, most people will not agree with you.
Damn!! Guess he shouldn't have raped, oops I'm sorry, "co-erced" the child to have sex
too bad jacko the wacko isnt around, i bet he would take him in, after all they could probably relate
well he did do 7 years....they should have sentenced him to 30 if they didn't want him back outwhen he could still get it up......now he's out but they won't let him live anywhere?
At least Deputy Grady is free to move in next door.
Hide your hot daughter time!
Anonymous, quit being so cowardly. Tell us who you are. I would suggest over 50% of the people convicted of sex offenses are not what most people traditionally think of as dangerous people. Most of them are statutory offense that have no basis in fact as sex offenses other than the statute says so. Additionally, most sex offenders whose victims are family members rarely repeat their offenses. The dangerous ones are stranger sex crimes. You don't have to feel sorry for these people, but the amount of time and money spent on them affects all of us. Ostracizing the sex offenders to the extent we do, as well as other convicted criminals, gives them little else to do other than resort to robbery and theft to survive. You may want more of that, I don't. I can watch out for sex offenders if I know where they are without ostracizing them. You just seem to be a person that believes the only way you are ever safe is if everyone but you is locked up or executed. That's cowardly.
The main problem is the sex offense, yes, but the other problem is to keep people like this "around" and out of jail. Why isn't it possible to live anywhere? or work anywhere? the law? time for "changes"? its like chasing your own tail. you'll never get it.
I dont know where you get your facts, but I would be very interested in finding the source for where you get that people whose crimes are against family don't reoffend. Usually if they molest one child in the family- chances are most of the other children living in that house have been molested too. Please don't just make up facts.
He's cute! (for a sex offender)
STUDY'S:
http://cfcoklahoma.org/New_Site/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=0&func=listcat&catid=83
I didn't say that they have not offended against other members of the family, just not usually AFTER they have been caught and punished. I have done my research. It is readily available on the internet and in law and medical journals when one doesn't limit one's research solely to discoving only what one wants to read or hear. There are two sides to most every issue, but on the sex crime side, rarely does anyone pay attention to evidence that shows the current laws and the reasons for them are skewed way out of whack.
DW, you dont really know your "facts" unless you are reading a comic book and obviously have never been in an abusive family situation, otherwise you might not be speaking out the side of your butt crack
Romeo and Juliet cases mostly get pled out to lesser charges that don't require sex offender registration???!!! What county do you work in?
Who ever posted this blog is mis-representing the facts in this case or is not truly familiar with the facts. I will stop short of calling them a liar.
They stated the subject was released from prison on 6-23-2009. The fact is they he was released on 6-20-2009.
The blogger also stated that the subject could not charge his GPS equipment. Again not true! The subject after his release from prison never actuary lived on the streets. He stayed in multiple motels/hotels in Hollywood until he was put in jail for 6 months in lieu of 2 years of community control. The blogger also stated that if the subject couldn't charge his equipment, it would be an instant violation. Again not true! The subject was provided with locations were he could charge his equipment if he was truly homeless (doc offices and law enforcement offices). The blogger also stated that the offender was told multiple times to go live under the bridge by the officer. This is also false. The officer was not present at the hearing. It's nice to make accusations against a person who is not their to defend themselves. The officer actualy told the offender that the Department of Corrections can not tell the offender where to live. This is actually documented, and the subject signed a letter acknowledging that it was his responsibility to find a suitable residence.
The blogger also mentioned that they had someone from BSO looking for the subject a place to leave since they anticpate NY will reject the subject's transfer. Well the offender was provided a place in Pahokee, Fl for a program for sex offenders to live by his officer. How come that did not make it to the bog?
This post would appear to me to have been posted by the subject's public defender, and she/he no doublt has a political agenda. If she/he did post this blog, she/he misrepresented the truth to further their political agenda.
I work within the system, and I have problems with the sex offender residence restrictions in Broward County. It places the public more at risk, beacuse the only thing I agree with the blogger is that it will discourage offenders to comply with their supervision and abscond.
But ultimatley who ever posted the blog does not have access to the facts in this case. Think about it! Subject gets out on 6-20-2009 and is in court on 6-30-2009 on emergency hearing set by the PD's office. Ironicaly if it wasn't for DOC the subject would have never known about the hearing. As the poster claims, the subject was homeless. So how was the subject notified about his hearing if he was homeless roaming the streets unable to charge his equipment?
Regardless of the facts in this case, there exists a very real, a very tragic problem with the plight of registered sexual offenders who have served their sentences. Obviously, there is popular sentiment not to treat these people as human beings; and we all agree their acts are certainly reprehensible. It seems to me, nonetheless, if local communities are going to impose restrictions on where these people can live, the communities have an obligation to provide decent housing. Is there not an attorney in Broward County to represent these poor wretches pro bono? Are there not religious organizations who will show them pity and provide them with a bed? Oh, I forgot, in the State of Florida, hypocrisy knows no bounds!
Insider should pull the transcript of the hearing to see what was really said. Prepare to be disappointed. Its all on the record.
The facts in this case are important! The fact is that they were grosley mispresented (by the defense in this case. Don't demonize the Department of Corrections for the municipal ordinace laws!) Don't misrepresent the truth in this case. Don't demonize probation officers for doing their jobs in the political boundaries they have to work in. Don't make Mr. Marquez a martyr after molesting his daughter! The original poster of this blog should be posting their political message else where instead of misrepresenting the truth to further their polical agenda! This site affirms why we have little repect for defense attorneys. They will lie and twist the truth to their own relaity. Not all lawyers, but some have no scruples and abuse their postition. However many attorneys are honrable! Just not the poster of this blog!
What's the matter? Did you get docked a day's pay for telling the guy to go live under a bridge? Or because you got called out for trying to close a case by not giving a shit?
har har probation officers don't lie just like the cops har har
Based upon your response, hit a nerve! Obivisoly you know nothing about probation lol! Also you apparently can't read! What country did you mail for your law degree/coloring book?
The fact that people are forced to live underneath bridges is reprehensible. Although I did not demonize the Department of Corrections or any probation officer, the assertion they are just "doing their jobs in the political boundaries they have to work in," doesn't hold water. By that logic, SS concentration camp guards should have been let off because they were doing their jobs within political boundaries.
I know of no one who would not feel Mr. Marquez's act of molesting his daughter a terrible crime; yet, the man has served his prison sentence and is a registered sex offender. I wish there were easy answers, there are not, but the government, no matter at what level, forcing people into a life of squalor needs to be addressed.
You claim that defense attorneys "will lie and twist the truth to their own reality." What about members of Mr. Satz's cabal who suborn perjury, harass defense witnesses, knowingly make false arguments when they know the poor defendant cannot afford to appeal and start prosecutions without adhering to even the most basic guarantees afforded by the law. And shame on the judges who let them get away with it. The whole system is culpable.
You did not demonize the Department of Corrections? Isn't misrepresenting the truth to make them look bad demonizing? Didn't you falsely state that probation officers told the defendant to live under the bridge? Then you go into a rant about comparing them with the SS during World War II. At this point I question whether or not you have a law degree. Or as a previous poster asked what country did you mail for your law degree? And again Marquez from what I have read was never forced to live under a bridge! If the probation officers knowingly violate the law or the Geneva convention (which does not apply to them but your post makes that implication!),then yes any probation officer or person should be prosecuted.
But you make some implication that Probation Officers should ignore their department's policy or procedure because the Department of Corrections Policy (well not actually doc policy, but municipal policy, the poster sort of skirts that issue), violates some higher principles that you believe in?
You are comparing apple and oranges, and I would love to see where you got your law degree since your posts appear to lack the ability to utilize critical thinking!
I didn't write the Marquez story and I certainly didn't say anything about probation officers in my original post. Here's what I said, "Regardless of the facts in this case, there exists a very real, a very tragic problem with the plight of registered sexual offenders who have served their sentences." Do you deny this is a problem? Even if, as you state and I have no reason to not believe you, Marquez was not told to live under a bridge, the fact is that registered sexual predators are being forced to live under bridges in this State.
Since you seem to be in the know, why don't you enlighten us on what steps the Department of Corrections and Probation Officers are taking to rectify this travesty of justice and common decency? You cannot simply blame municipalities, wash your hands of the problem and hide behind Department of Corrections policy. That's why I used the extreme comparison of the SS, which may not have been the best analogy, but is effective. "I was just following orders" isn't a defense for the State and municipal governments not addressing this problem.
Lastly, why do you and other bloggers feel it's acceptable to personally attack people you don't know, based solely on your disagreement with others' opinions?
“Since you seem to be in the know, why don't you enlighten us on what steps the Department of Corrections and Probation Officers are taking to rectify this travesty of justice and common decency?”
Well the Department of Corrections did not create this problem. Local and county officials created this problem. Is it the Department of Corrections job to go after county and municipal agencies whose policies they disagree with? Policies and ordinances that are legal? Your post implies that probation officers shouldn’t follow their department’s policy and procedures because they are illegal and unlawful. Soldiers in the military that follow illegal and unlawful orders in times of war can be charged with war crimes. But in this case it is very different. You seem to believe that the Department of Corrections should step up and deal with this problem. That is not their roll in this matter, especially when courts have upheld these ordinances.
If you are a lawyer, you need to step up and challenge the local ordinances that place such restriction on sex offenders as being illegal. It is not the Department of Corrections responsibility to solve this problem. Especially when they did not create it! The political process through the legislature is responsible for solving this problem, not the Department of Corrections.
You make an excellent point in that the Department of Corrections did not create the problem. Perhaps my post does imply that probation officers shouldn't follow their department's policy and procedures because they are unlawful; however, the reality is that is not a particularly practical solution. It certainly isn't fair to task dedicated state employees to risk their jobs on principles the leaders of state government should uphold, particularly legislators, State Attorneys and judges. Yet...
This is such a complicated issue. Perhaps the beginning of the solution lies with the attorneys who are employed by the Department of Corrections. They certainly can file suit and petition the governor and legislature to provide a viable and equitable solution. And I think more importantly, we as citizens can let our legislators know that while we understand the acts of sex offenders are vile and reprehensible, once they have completed their sentences these people need to be treated with decency. I've written mine.
DOC attorneys have been aware of the problem for some time,and so has the Governor. For the past two years there have been bills in the legislature abolishing all city and county ordinances, and replacing the 1000 foot rule to 1500 feet. DOC has been in support of both bills. However they have died in committee. So it would seem to me the legislature has failed to act on the problem. Also these ordinances don't just effect sex offenders on supervision, they also apply to sex offenders off supervision as well. From that it is clear to me it is not the Department of Corrections responsibility to fix the problem. Probation Officers have to follow the lawful orders of their superiors, and as a previous poster noted these ordinances have been up held in other jurisdictions. The hole tone of the original poster and those who posted in favor,are as one poster claimed demonizing DOC. If they are not, then they don't really know anything about probation and parole and making posts based upon perception in lieu of fact.