On September 11, 2026 a big change happened to Michigan’s sex offense registry. People whose offense was before July 1, 2011 were removed. This included many of our members. For years the courts have been saying that Michigan’s 2011 Registry is punishment and therefore can’t be applied retroactively to people whose offense occurred before then. Many of our members who were removed had offenses that were 20, 30, or even 40 years ago.
Scientific evidence shows that even those people initially at the highest risk to reoffend, if they have been in the community and have not committed a sex offense for about 17 years, they are no more likely to do so than anyone else. For those at medium or low risk that time is sooner. Michigan, wastefully, puts over 70% of adults who have been convicted of a sex offense on the Registry for life. No one needs to be on for life. A risk assessment is already done for Michigan prisoners, so using it to determine time on the Registry, would not impose an additional expense for these people.
Michigan’s law hasn’t changed, so Michigan’s Registry will gradually grow back to its previous, bloated state (previously one of the largest in the country). The legislature needs to change the law.