Have you ever been accused of an offense but not charged? Maybe you were charged and proven not guilty? You were convicted but it was years ago?" asked Vicki Henry, president of Women Against Registry, Inc. (WAR). She went on to say "Constitutional Amendment #2 will be on the November 4th ballot in Missouri. Most voters will be inclined to stop after reading the title below. It is imperative everyone read the full language of the proposal including the yes or no vote.

The Official Ballot Title for Constitutional Amendment 2 is: "Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended so that it will be permissible to allow relevant evidence of prior criminal acts to be admissible in prosecutions for crimes of a sexual nature involving a victim under eighteen years of age?"

WAR strongly urges voters to understand the implication of their vote on this issue. A YES vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to allow past criminal acts even alleged crimes not resulting in convictions to be used to corroborate victim testimony or demonstrate a defendant's likelihood to commit such crimes when facing sex-related charges involving victims under eighteen years of age. It can increase the risk of being wrongly convicted. The facts of the alleged crime is not all that will be considered. A defendants entire life and reputation can be weighed by a judge and jury when deciding guilt or innocence.

A NO vote will not amend the Missouri Constitution regarding the use of evidence of prior criminal acts to prosecute alleged sexual crimes. This was the intent when the Missouri Supreme Court in 2007 ruled evidence of prior criminal acts is never admissible for the purpose of demonstrating the defendant's propensity to commit the crime with which he is presently charged.

WAR is a national organization of mothers, wives, sisters, fiances, grandmothers and other family members with a loved one on the sex offender registry. Laws such as this are enacted with the intent to protect children but actually harm them instead. We strive to educate the public regarding the harmful effects suffered by our children and families and offer alternatives.

There is no empirical evidence supporting existing current registry laws and residency restrictions protect our children. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports the recidivism rate for another sexual offense is 3.5%. The overly punitive restraints ignore the fact 93-95% of sexual offenses occur within the victims own family or close family friends.

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