Response Governor Freudenthal/ Whyoming/ I ? Jessica LawDear Barbara: (my words > better know as chickadee) :D
Thanks for your note on "Jessica's Law." I absolutely understand your
concern - the sexual abuse of children is one of the most heartbreaking crimes we deal with as a society, and governments have an obligation to take steps to prevent the crime and punish the criminal. I am glad you took the time to get in touch with the governor's office directly to discuss this.
The failure of mandatory minimum sentencing for child sex offenders is
one of the governor's greatest disappointments with our recently ended
legislative session. Governor Freudenthal had appeared before our
Legislature's Joint Judiciary Committee to ask legislators to pass two
pieces of legislation: one that would sentence a second-time sex
offender to life without parole and another that would put everyone
convicted of a sex crime against children up on a public Web site. I
can direct you to news coverage of that appearance if you would like
further information. Unfortunately, neither bill passed muster with lawmakers,but the governor will continue to pursue these and similar measures.
I'm also attaching a letter from Attorney General Pat Crank to the
producers of the "O'Reilly Factor." While not directly related to your
question, it does outline a few of the other things going on in the
state with regard to protecting children and punishing offenders. I
hope you will take a minute to look at it, and I hope that it will put you
somewhat at ease to know that the state's law enforcement community is
hard at work every day on this same issue. (If you have any trouble
opening the attachment, let me know, and I'd be happy to fax or mail
you a copy.) Please believe that there is no one in state government who
underestimates the tragedy of a sexually abused child.
Coincidentally, FBI agents were recently at the Wyoming Division of
Criminal Investigation performing a regular audit of the performance
of DCI and the Wyoming sex offender registry. The audit is not yet
officially finished, but I am glad to be able to tell you that the
state is so far doing exceptionally well. I hope to be able to release the
good news when the audit is completed.
But I also wanted to take this opportunity to talk about the governor
specifically and why he testified before legislators on this matter.
As you may or may not know, he was U.S. Attorney for the district of
Wyoming -- the state's top prosecutor -- for seven years before he ran
for governor. Governor Freudenthal was instrumental in establishing a
task force within the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation to
investigate child exploitation taking place over the Internet -- from
the production and exchange of child pornography to the luring of
children into other states for sexual exploitation. Wyoming is truly a
state that has pioneered the prosecution of child exploitation and the
punishment of those who take advantage of our most innocent citizens.
AsUnited States Attorney, Governor Freudenthal not only oversaw the
prosecutions that put many sex offenders in prison, but repeatedly
sought and obtained funding for the individuals and equipment
necessary to prosecute these cases.
If you would like any more information on the state's efforts, please
do not hesitate to get in touch with me or the attorney general. Our
contact information is below.
Lara Azar
Press Secretary, Office of Gov. Dave Freudenthal
Ph. 307.777.7437
Fax 307.632.3909
lazar@state.wy.us
Pat Crank
Attorney General
Ph. 307.777.7841
Fax 307.777.6869
pcrank@state.wy.us
Best regards,
Lara
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Office of the Attorney General
Governor Administration Chief Deputy Attorney General
Dave Freudenthal 123 State Capitol Elizabeth C. Gagen
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002
Attorney General 307-777-7841 Telephone
Patrick J. Crank 307-777-6869 Fax
July 12, 2005
Bill O’Reilly
FOX News
Via Facsimile - (212) 301-5147
Dear Mr. O’Reilly:
Based on my calls and e-mails today, I understand that you were highly critical of Wyoming’s efforts regarding Wyoming sex offender laws. I have not yet received a transcript of your comments, but I feel the need to set the record straight regarding Wyoming’s efforts on this front.
I am generally aware, based on an e-mail by Ron Mitchell of FOX News, that your criticism of Wyoming was caused by FOX News’ review of Wyoming statutes and your concern that we have no minimum mandatory sexual offender sentencing provisions or lifetime GPS sexual offender tracking.
Governor Freudenthal, during the time he was serving as the United States Attorney for Wyoming, sought statutory changes requiring minimum mandatory sentencing for defendants who sexually abuse or exploit minors. The Wyoming Legislature chose not to pass such legislation.
Lifetime GPS monitoring for sex offenders may or may not be effective. If a sex offender is so dangerous as to require lifetime GPS monitoring, it would be safer to incarcerate the person for life. A life sentence will absolutely prevent further sexual acts while knowing the sexual offender’s whereabouts may not prevent further attacks.
Regarding sexual offender registry, the Governor and the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office pursued legislative changes during the session of the Wyoming Legislature this spring. With the passage of this legislation, Wyoming has adopted all national models concerning sexual offender registry. This recent legislative change adopted the Campus Sexual Offender Registry Act, which requires sexual offenders attending or working at any educational institution to register with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation who subsequently notifies campus and local law enforcement. This provision of Wyoming law helps protect the safety of the campus and local community.
In addition, the recently passed legislation shortened the time required for registration from 40 days to 10 days. These time frames apply to both sexual offenders convicted in Wyoming as well as those moving to Wyoming.
The new legislation also adopted a lower burden of proof that must be applied by courts when assessing a sexual offender’s risk of re-offense. Courts in Wyoming must now apply a preponderance of evidence standard (rather than a clear and convincing evidence standard) when assessing whether an offender has a “high,” “moderate,” or “low” risk of re-offense. This court determination results in the offender being posted on a public web site (“high” risk of re-offense), neighborhood notification (“moderate” risk of re-offense), or having law enforcement only notification (“low” risk of re-offense).
In summary, Wyoming has taken steps to stay current with current national models concerning sexual offender registry. We have also expressed our willingness to participate with the Department of Justice in a National Sexual Offender Registry Project and are awaiting further direction from the Department of Justice. Wyoming has taken all steps to register sexual offenders and protect the public that are available to us under the law and as allowed by the Wyoming Legislature.
Additionally, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation leads the United States in innovative strategies to combat child exploitation and child sexual abuse via the internet. The Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) has written software, which has been freely shared with state, federal, and international law enforcement agencies, to arrest those sick individuals who use the internet to traffic in child pornography and to locate children to sexually abuse.
The effectiveness of the Wyoming ICAC was recognized in November 2004, when the Wyoming ICAC received the International Association of Chiefs of Police most prestigious award - the Choice Point Award - for innovation in criminal investigation. To understand the importance of this award given to the Wyoming team, you need to know that in the previous year, the award was given to the D.C. area task force that was responsible for solving the D.C. area sniper attacks. Only the best of the best are considered for the award and Wyoming earned the award through its unflinching commitment to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation in Wyoming, the United States, and worldwide.
Each and every day, Wyoming law enforcement and Wyoming prosecutors investigate and prosecute those who abuse children in Wyoming. I would stack our record involving these crimes and their successful prosecution against any state in the Union.
Now that you know that Wyoming is not “soft” on sexual offender registry or child abuse, I trust you will retract your earlier criticism of Wyoming. I hope that you will let your viewers know that Wyoming in fact leads the nation and world in combating what may well be one of the greatest perils our children face - the nameless, faceless criminals who stalk the internet looking for children to use for their own sexual gratification.
Regards,
Patrick J. Crank
Wyoming Attorney General
PJC:cc
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