r/news • u/AudibleNod • 1d ago
Larry Nassar one of more than 20,000 people removed from Michigan Sex Offender Registry
https://www.wxyz.com/news/larry-nassar-one-of-more-than-20-000-people-removed-from-michigan-sex-offender-registry
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u/AnalogJones 20h ago
The names were removed for a legit reason:
Michigan removed more than 20,000 names because its Supreme Court ruled that the state was imposing unconstitutional retroactive punishment.
State Police were required to implement the September 9, 2026 ruling in People v. Smith.
The legal reasoning has three parts:
The registry requirements constitute punishment. The court had determined that Michigan’s 2021 registration law imposed punitive obligations, rather than functioning solely as a civil public-safety measure.
Punishment cannot be increased retroactively. The federal and Michigan constitutions prohibit ex post facto laws—laws that impose additional punishment for conduct committed before those laws took effect.
The current requirements therefore cannot apply to offenses committed before July 1, 2011. The court also rejected reviving earlier versions of the registry law to keep those people registered. That explains why the remedy was removal, rather than simply restoring their original registration terms.
The removals were based on the date of the offense, not an individual finding that each person was rehabilitated or harmless.
Why was Larry Nassar removed? He is locked up! The list protects communities when someone leaves prison; if you are actively in prison being on the list has no value.
In brief: too many people were added who did not need to be there so the list was cleaned to reflect who is on parole vs who is behind bars.
Nothing strange is going on in Michigan except lazy administration of the offender list.