Newsletter Issue #1 November 2022
Iowa Registrant Awarded $12 Million for Wrongful Imprisonment
Donald Clark won $12 million in October 2022 in a lawsuit against the state of Iowa, years after being exonerated and released from prison on false charges that he sexually abused a student while working as an Iowa City elementary school counselor.
A jury awarded Clark $8 million in past emotional distress damages and $4 million for future damages after he spent six years in prison starting in 2010. He was released in 2016 when his conviction was vacated. The court found that his public defender, John Robertson, was ineffective and declared Clark not guilty, but also “actually innocent,” a legally important finding.
The jury found that Clark’s public defender failed to investigate the prosecution’s case against Clark, and a “substandard trial performance led to his conviction and wrongful imprisonment.” Clark and his lawyers spent five years suing the state since his original 25-year prison sentence was vacated.
“A jury said loudly that the state of Iowa must take responsibility when you hurt somebody,” Clark’s attorney said. “Money is of course a necessary part of compensating anyone. But that amount of money is a drop in the bucket in terms of what they took from him and what they left him with.”
Good News from Pennsylvania: Commonwealth vs. Torsilieri
A recent legal victory in Pennsylvania gives us hope for our own future! In 2017 George Torsilieri was convicted of a sexual offense in Pennsylvania. In his appeal he argued that SORNA is unconstitutional because of the presump-tion that all sexual offenders are dangerous and pose a high risk of re-offense, and that registration and notification procedures are necessary to protect the public from them. He argued that this presumption is not supported by current research and is incorrect. He also argued that contrary to popular belief (and the stated intent of SORNA) registration and notification provisions threaten public safety by preventing reintegration of the offenders as law-abiding citizens.
In a 2020 opinion, the PA Supreme Court considered a lot of factors that other courts never bother to consider, most significantly scientific evidence. The Court also sent the case back to the lower court to make some factual findings relevant to all registrants.
Advocacy groups across the U.S. have been trying for years to overcome two conclusions from the awful 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision Smith v. Doe. First is the false conclusion that re-offense rates of people convicted of a sexual offense are “frightening and high”, and the second false conclusion is that “the registry is not punishment”. That SCOTUS decision haunts all of us and this new PA court opinion debunks both those false conclusions.
The PA Court found that the presumption of dangerous-ness is a stigma that marks a class of people without any consideration of individual characteristics or circum-stances. The Court also found that the presumption (that registrants pose a high risk of re-offense) was bullshit (my words, not theirs, but the sentiment is the same). And to arrive at that conclusion they actually examined the scientific evidence!
While a decision from a Pennsylvania state court is not binding precedent on us here in Iowa, it is a significantly persuasive precedent for any future court case here. And finally, let’s be happy for anyone who gets off this horrible registry. We are all in this together. Maybe this decision gave hope to someone who not long ago felt hopeless like many of us do? This is a great day for the advocacy community!
Coming Soon: Iowa 2023 Legislative Session
The Iowa state legislature meets during the first quarter of every year (January – March). The months leading up to each legislative session (October – December) are often a time when our state representatives file proposed bills for consideration, some of which may affect registered citizens.
Iowans Unafraid is watching to see what bills – bad or good – may be coming up for consideration in 2023. This past year our members attended and spoke out at legislative committee hearings and were able to scale back some of the worst bills under consideration.
If the opportunity to speak arises in 2023 we will be ready to go further – offering positive legislation to repeal previous bad bills and reform the Iowa registry.
WE HOPE YOU’LL JOIN US!
The more registrants and loved ones who attend committee hearings the more our legislators will know we’re ready to speak up for our rights! If you would be interested in coming with us to Des Moines during the upcoming session, contact Heather Wagner at prisonisntworking@gmail.com
2023 - DC Vigil Against the Registry
Mark your calendars: March 2023 – Conference and vigil on the Supreme Court Steps in Washington, DC to protest the 20-year anniversary of the 2003 Supreme Court
Smith vs. Doe decision which justified registries nationwide, written without statistics and facts.
Dates – March 4th – 7th. DC has no limit on the number of days a registrant can visit without having to register.
Virginia’s limit is 30 days. SAFE to attend.
For more info visit the WAR (Women Against the Registry) site at https://ww1.womenagainstregistry.org/
