Judge: NC sex offenders don't need lifetime monitoring

RALEIGH (AP) -- A Wake Superior Court judge has ruled that four North Carolina sex offenders shouldn't be subject to lifetime monitoring.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that the monitoring devices were removed after Judge Ripley Rand's ruling Thursday.

The decision was the latest rejection of the state's attempts to track sex offenders who have finished their sentences. Many are contesting the tracking, under which more than 100 people are monitored statewide.

Attorneys opposing the monitoring have argued that the system violated constitutional rights and was beset by technical problems.

Corrections officials say the department spends almost $3,000 a year to track one offender.

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Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com

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