Alabama recently rewrote the laws concerning sex offenders and the registration requirements of convicted sex offender. One of the single most important aspects of these new laws was the inclusion of a method by which Juvenile and Youthful Offenders may be excused from registration for life as a sex offender and avoid the public notification requirement.
The criteria is very narrow and seems designed to apply to young adults and teens who find themselves in a situation where an offense has occurred and the only reason it is a criminal offense is due to age. Offenses involving force are not eligible. It allows for the crime to be punished but the defendant not to have to register for life or be branded as a sex offender at such a young age. In addition I think it is the Legislatures way of acknowledging that like it or not minors are engaging in consensual sexual relations at an earlier age and it is not justice to punish for life the party that happens to be only a year or two older than the other minor
