Hi this is Dana Wilson who was convicted of POSSESSION of sexually explicit materials in November of 2015 after an appeal.   Possession only, not downloading or sending.  My case actually started in February of 2011. I am now in the process of filing for a post conviction review which costs a lot more than $10,000 for an attorney with experience in cases such as these.  Through the whole process I have spent seven months in jail and am not currently allowed to go back to my residence in Florida due to housing ordinance restrictions placed upon "sex offenders".  I was denied living in my retirement community based upon the fact that a local swimming pool which is age restricted(30 and over) was deemed too close to my home. I am appealing that decision.   I have slept in the woods and did live in a homeless shelter for three months.  I am fighting for my "life" due to the restrictions placed upon "sex offenders".  I will become a advocate for reforms based upon the fact that it is time to base restrictions on each individual case and not by lumping all "sex offenders" into one catagory.  I know that a lot of people will agree with the fact the the "sex offender" laws are mostly outdated and draconian and that our society offers second chances to every other criminal.  I served my time and in fact am allowed to use the internet which is unusual in cases like mine but it was a conviction based upon circumstantial evidence only.  When I move back to Florida I will be placed on the Registry for life!  No other felony is structured this extreme especially for a computer crime such as mine. 

I am hiring an attorney whom I called and it was a very interesting first conversation.  He asked me who my forensics expert was because he wanted to get his testimony.  I said my forensics expert was not called to testify even though before the trial started that expert said that the case should not have gone to trial because the evidence lacked a conviciton.  The attorney then asked for the internet usage report so that he could match downloading to my usage and I said there was no usage report on the record.  My attorney then asked to have a list of all the people who were questioned or interviewed on my behalf and I said there were none.  By this time the attorney said "wow", we need to talk.  I have always said that if you were not at my trial or have not read my trial transcript then you do not know anything about my case. 

Too many lives are ruined by the overzealous lawmakers and law enforcement officials without analying each individual crime and person.  I do realize that some will place and catagorize all "sex offenders" in a group of the worst of the worst but that is an unfair characterization.  I do know that there are certain "offenders" that need therapy and monitoring.  After serving "time" for a criminal act life should allow one to settle back into society but with a sex offender registry in place it is nearly impossible to find normalcy which includes work, housing and in a lot of cases family ties.

I am asking for help in raising money for my defense and hope that someday I will be able to pay this forward.  Thanks