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Comment

[***DOJ DOCKET NOTE: PERSONAL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION OF THE COMMENTER REDACTED AT THE COMMENTER’S REQUEST***]RETURN ADDRESS REDACTED October 4, 2020 Regulations Docket Clerk Office of Legal Policy U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Room 4234 Washington, DC 20530 Subject: Comments on Rulemaking Registration Requirements Under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), 28 CFR Part 72 Reference: Docket No. OAG 157 To Whom it May Concern, The following recommendation is provided regarding the subject proposed rule as published in the Federal Register/Vol.85, N0. 157/Thursday, August 13, 2020/Proposed Rules, Page 49332. Comment: Part 72.5, How long sex offenders must register. Modify Part 72.5 to add the following subpart (d) Pardons. Whenever a registrant receives a pardon for a sex offense which resulted in the requirement that the registrant be placed on the sex offender registry, the registrant shall be removed from the sex offender registry immediately (within 3 days) and shall be relieved of the requirement to keep the registration current. In addition, the offense shall be expunged from all court and law enforcement records. Justification for Comment: Granting of a pardon for a sex offense is evidence that the registrant is not considered sexually dangerous. Otherwise, a pardon would be inappropriate, and should not, and would not, be granted. Once determined that a registrant is not considered sexually dangerous through the pardon process, the registrant should be automatically removed from the sex offender registry. There is little, if any, value in seeking, or in granting a pardon, if the registrant is not relieved of the registration requirement and the record is not expunged. If Congress intended for the SORNA to prevent a pardon from relieving a registrant from the registration requirement and/or to prevent expungement of the offense from the record, they should clarify the intent with additional legislation. This is a critical matter and should not be left to the rule making process. Name of commenter redacted

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