A well-established principle of ancient origin is that the legislature cannot increase the punishment for a crime after it has been committed.” So said Justice Albin in reversing a parole-board decision subjecting a 76-year-old sex offender (now 81) to lifetime supervised parole under the Sex Offender Monitoring Act (SOMA), which was enacted just two years before the defendant completed his 20-year prison sentence in February 2009.
In 1986, the defendant was convicted of attempted sexual assault on a minor. He was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison. Upon his release, after completing his entire sentence, he “was under no form of supervised release,” but was subject to the registration and notification requirements of Megan’s Law.
