LANSING, Mich. — The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit this week over the state's sex offender registry. They're saying despite the changes to the registry last year, its requirements are still unconstitutional and the punishment needs to better fit the crime.
“Michigan's registry is very, very large, and what it does is it actually is counterproductive," said Miriam Aukerman, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Michigan.
Aukerman says that sex offenders in the state should be held accountable but the state's current registry doesn't take into account the specifics of each case and makes the public less safe because offenders are excluded from support that might prevent re-offending.
“It makes us less safe because it undermines the very things that people need to succeed," she said. "It makes it difficult for them to get housing, it makes it difficult for them to get employment, all of the things that we know are really important for successful reentry.”
In other words, Michigan's current system treats all registrants as if they pose a very high risk to public safety. For example, the registry treats a serial rapist the same as someone who robbed a fast food joint with an underage employee inside with no sexual contact.
In 2021, Michigan made changes to the registry that include not requiring registrants to appear in person to alter information like an email address and eliminated school safety zones. But the ACLU says that's not enough. This is the fourth time in the last decade or so they've tried to make changes to the state's sex offender registry.
“We tried really hard to work with the Legislature to develop a system that would be based on the science, based on what we know and also constitutional. But that didn't happen," said Aukerman. "Legislators just close their eyes to the evidence and passed a law that looks almost exactly like the law that the courts have said is unconstitutional."
Aukerman says having a huge sex offender list is also unsafe for the public.
"It's also a public safety question because what we're doing right now is throwing millions and millions of dollars at a broken, ineffective and counterproductive system," she said.
Aukerman says that money could be even better spent on testing rape kits, working on prevention measures and educating young people about consent, bystander protection and even alcohol use, especially on college campuses.
"No one should be tarred as a sex offender for life without any individual consideration of their case. Dying should not be the only way to get off the registry," she said.
Attorney General Dana Nessel's office says they're reviewing the case.
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