Last May, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court invalidated Allegheny County's version of Megan's Law. In their ruling, they stated that the law violated the state legislature's intent behind Megan's Law by exiling registered sex offenders to "localized penal colonies" with no access to supportive communities or gainful employment. This, advocates argue, raises the risk of recidivism by excluding convicted offenders from stable housing, jobs, and opportunities for treatment.

Under the state Megan's Law, adults who are convicted of sex crimes must register their address, updating police if they relocate, for a set period of time depending on the offense. Local police departments will then post the information on a statewide database. A few years ago, the law was enhanced to provide sex offenders' photos, current addresses, and information about their offenses.

The federal government and all 50 states have versions of Megan's Law. When the Pennsylvania legislature passed the law, it did not include specific criteria on where registered sex offenders could and could not live. As a result, municipalities could create their own requirements, many of which imposed unnecessary, harmful conditions on where sex offenders can live.

For example, the recently-overturned Allegheny County law prohibited registered sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of any school, childcare center, recreation or community center, or public park. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court found this unnecessarily restrictive, and repealed the law.

In the weeks and months following the Supreme Court ruling, at least three Pennsylvania cities have repealed their Megan's Laws, and several other towns are reportedly considering similar action.

We will continue our discussion of this topic in a blog post later this week.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, "Court ruling has communities overhauling Megan's Laws," Bill Reed, Oct. 2, 2011