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"An outlet, an outlet ... my kingdom for an outlet for my GPS monitor!"

By Douglas A. Berman

The silly riff on a famously sad Shakespeare quote was inspired by this ruling today from the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.  The case, as the court explains, brings "more fully into view a tension between mandatory GPS monitoring of sex offenders released on probation ... and the practical reality of homelessness -- a circumstance facing an increasing number of former sex offenders." Here are the basics from this local piece about the ruling, which is headlined "SJC: Homeless sex offenders can't be blamed for not charging GPS devices": Convicted sex offenders should not be punished for violating the terms of their probation if they can't find a power outlet to charge their GPS monitoring devices because they're homeless, the state's highest court said today...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on December 21, 2010 (boomark / email).