The Michigan Supreme Court says the state must stop putting people on the sex-offender registry if their crime was not sexual.

Michigan’s policy of putting people on a sex-offender registry even if their crime was nonsexual is unconstitutional, the state Supreme Court said Monday.

In a 5-2 decision, the court said a portion of a 2021 law is “cruel or unusual punishment” barred by the Michigan Constitution.

A Wayne County man in 2015 was convicted of holding his wife and two children at gunpoint for hours. After his release from prison, he would face 15 years on the sex-offender registry because his unlawful-imprisonment conviction involved minors.

“Although defendant’s offense was undoubtedly severe, that offense contained no sexual element and no indication that defendant poses a risk of committing sexual crimes in the future,” Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement said.

  • Dem BosainEnglish
    28·
    4 months ago

    “The majority opinion ignores that countless Michigan families rely on the registry to ensure their safety. … Registration provides vital information for the parent who must choose a babysitter or entrust a child with a volunteer coach,” said Zahra, who was joined by Justice David Viviano.

    Yes, of course the “ends justify the means” defense.

    • ShepherdPie
      27·
      4 months ago

      Seems like a case to allow free background checks not put people on a sex offender registry. If they put enough of these non-sex related offenders on there, they’re completely watering down the meaning of the registry which will give convenient excuses to people who actually belong on there allowing them to slip through the cracks.

    • Nougat@fedia.io
      17·
      4 months ago

      You’re way more likely to be the victim of burglary, theft, DUI collision, wage theft, voter suppression, and on and on - but we don’t have publicly available databases of those perpetrators, do we?