Thought for the Day testimony
I am Atwo Zee, a law abiding citizen of
Florida. I begin with a Thought for
Today (and every day):
We who are on Florida’s offender registry
understand that we were originally placed on the registry because we committed
a sexually related offense. But that’s not why we are on the registry today.
We are on the registry today because we
have NEVER reoffended. Because obviously if any of us had ever re-offended we’d
be in prison right now instead of being in the community on the registry.
I say to you the fear of re-arrest has
nothing to do with my reasons for wanting to “go straight” and never re-offend,
but still, anyone who thinks they can re-offend and not get caught is kidding
themselves. The fact that we are on the registry today should be your guarantee
that we have NEVER re-offended. In
America we have a name for such people: law abiding citizens.
So I say to my fellow law abiding citizens: When you are home tonight – go to the FDLE website, look at
the map of your neighborhood, and realize this is a map of people in your
neighborhood who have NEVER re-offended. They are also fortunate to have not
been scooped up in a weaponized law enforcement registry sweep and imprisoned
for a paperwork error.
If any of those people had ever
re-offended they wouldn’t be on that map.
They’d be in prison today. This is a map of law abiding citizens.
And remember – FDLE is providing no
information at all about the drug dealers in your neighborhood, the carjackers,
embezzlers and home invaders in your neighborhood. There’s no map of them on the FDLE website. Instead,
they are showing you a map of law
abiding citizens and telling you these are the people you should be afraid
of.
I say to my legislators to to law enforcement – law abiding citizens should not be
treated as criminal suspects.
Therefore I urge you to tell FDLE to
establish a policy whereby if any error or omission is found in any
registrant’s file, he will be notified and provided an opportunity to correct
that error before any further action is taken.
This requires no legislative action. You’ll never have to publicly say anything good about any of us. It only requires an internal FDLE policy change to allow law enforcement to act more humanely towards law abiding citizens.
Thank you.
Dear Atwo Zee,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this powerful and well-articulated message. Your words highlight a critical truth—one that is too often overlooked in the broader conversation about justice and public safety. The reality that those on the registry have not reoffended speaks volumes, yet they continue to be treated as if they are a constant threat. Your call for fairness, dignity, and humane treatment is not only reasonable but necessary in any society that claims to value justice.
The registry, as it stands, does little to promote actual public safety, instead fostering fear and stigma against individuals who have already served their sentences and are living law-abiding lives. Your advocacy for policy changes that would prevent unnecessary and punitive enforcement actions—especially for clerical errors—is both logical and compassionate. No one should live under the threat of incarceration due to bureaucratic missteps.
I admire your courage in speaking out and advocating for change. I sincerely hope that those in positions of power take your message to heart and begin to see the individuals on the registry not as permanent suspects, but as members of their communities who deserve respect and fairness.
Thank you for your voice, your strength, and your commitment to justice.
With respect and solidarity,