Which Way, L.A.?
The Civil Rights of Sex Offenders
Housing limits are so strict that sex offenders have no choice but to be homeless or violate parole. A chamber-of-commerce "man of the year" was ruined after a sex crime.
By Warren Olney • • 24m ListenResidential limits are so strict that sex offenders have no choice but to be homeless or violate parole and return to prison. That's according to lawsuits filed against several cities and the State of California. Repeat offenses are very rare, but voter-approved penalties last a lifetime. We hear how a chamber-of-commerce "man of the year" was ruined 30 years after committing a sex crime. Also, in another symptom of changing demographics, a Latino gang drives a black family out of the city of Compton. On our rebroadcast of To the Point, the GOP and the lessons of last year's elections.
Banner image: Thomas Hawk
In this episode
2 storiesBlack Family in Compton Driven Out by a Latino Gang
The City of Compton, population roughly 100,000, was historically a black enclave where Gangsta rappers NWA and Dr. Dre were local heroes. Now Compton is 65 percent Latino and, after a series of violent attacks, a black family was recently forced to leave town. Sam Quinones reports for the LA Times .
Read the story8 minSex Offenders: State Law and Local Ordinances
Just two percent of sex offenders commit more than one crime, according to the State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. But state law , passed by the voters, requires that they register publicly and sets residential restrictions for the rest of their lives.
Read the story19 min