Dying Outside: Sex Offenders Turned Away from Shelters

On Monday morning, the body of 52-year-old Thomas Pauli was found in the snow near a Grand Rapids, Michigan, recycling shop. He had recently been denied access to the city's two homeless shelters, because both are within 1,000 feet of a school, where it's illegal for sex offenders to sleep - even for one night, even in the winter. So he was sleeping on the street. The temperature dipped to 9 degrees Farenheit and he died in the snow.

Is this law really necessary, or effective? Are sex offenders more of a threat in a homeless shelter or when they're on the streets. Was Pauli a threat at all?

He was convicted in 1991 of second-degree sexual assault against a child. I did a quick search but couldn't find any more details of the crime he allegedly committed. (Please post in the comments if you can find anything) Maybe it was a horrible assault that scarred the victim for life. Maybe it was a misunderstanding or a wrongful conviction. I don't know. Regardless, the conviction sent Pauli to prison for 11 years and then grouped him with more than 40,000 convicted sex offenders in Michigan. Maybe he was a threat and maybe he wasn't, but I think it's fair to say that if he were trying to start a new life or get on his feet, the law that denied him a bed wasn't helping.

The handling of the homeless by sex offender registries is a major problem in dozens of states. Laws like Michigan's have come under fire just in the last few weeks in Iowa and California. Meanwhile, in New York, residents are outraged that temporary housing for homeless sex offenders is being considered near their homes.

Laws like Michigan's 1,000-foot rule need to be flexible, giving shelter administrators the opportunity to save a life when they feel a person has nowhere else to go. Grand Rapids columnist Tom Rademacher says it well:

Never mind that school isn't in session during the hours a guy like Pauli would have been snoozing away on a warm cot.

Or that ex-cons -- or anyone else -- are more likely a threat to a neighborhood when they have nowhere to go. When they are desperate.

The missions aren't to blame. They risk fines or even being shut down if they don't comply with the law.

But it's a law that needs changing. And we need to re-examine our collective level of commitment to a part of society that, to most of us, matters least.

As always, for great reporting and commentary on homelessness, check out Shannon Moriarty's End Homelessness blog on change.org.