In a 5-2 decision today, the Supreme Court of Kentucky ruled that a law limiting where registered sex offenders can live is unconstitutional in that it attempted to be applied retroactively from its inception date of July 12, 2006. The court rulled that the law cannot apply to those who committed offenses before the day the original law was enacted. The law, that prohibits sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of playgrounds, daycare centers and schools also changed how the distance is measured.
In this ruling, the court said the law is punitive in nature and violates the ex post facto clause, or retroactive law, in the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits states from passing laws that increase punishment for old crimes. The restrictions will still apply to anyone convicted after July 2006. You may remember that the whole issue came to the Supreme Court because of ex-offenders who were now living peacefully in homes they owned prior to 2006. Enactment of the original version of the law meant that these individuals would, in some cases, have to sell their homes and move or be in violation of the law.
While the action today may be good news for some, I expect we've not heard the end of this and can just imagine the uproar that will ensue from those who follow the Salem Witch Trial philosophy of "kill them first and then ask questions."
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