Should sex offenders still be in custody? Officials say they don't know

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2-27-15 Minnesota:

Administrators said program lacks the staff and funding to determine if certain sex offenders should be released.

In a damaging courtroom sequence this week, top administrators at Minnesota’s sex offender treatment program admitted they don’t know if men confined for years at high-security treatment centers still deserve to be in custody.

Two high-level directors at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) said the program lacked the staff and money to conduct regular evaluations, and that as a result, the state may be detaining untold numbers of sex offenders who no longer meet the state’s legal requirement for confinement.

The surprising admission, in the third week of a landmark federal trial in St. Paul, cast new doubt on whether the state is violating the Constitution by confining sex offenders for indefinite periods after they have already served their prison terms. The trial marks the first serious legal test of the 20-year-old program, which has been criticized for confining too many offenders for too long.

“How can you have a treatment program that doesn’t even know which of their clients are ready for release?” asked Roberta Opheim, the state ombudsman for mental health and developmental disabilities.

State lawmakers are already preparing for the possibility that U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank, who is hearing the case, will declare the program unconstitutional and order sweeping changes. This week an influential lawmaker, Sen. Kathy Sheran, DFL-Mankato, introduced legislation that would expand treatment for sex offenders in prisons and establish indeterminate sentences for sex offenses, thereby ending the practice of using MSOP as a back-door method of punishment.

“Why do we have this [civil commitment] system if we can do all we can do in the corrections system?” Sheran said in an interview.

State lawmaker to propose sex offender relocation bill

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2-27-15 Wisconsin:

Residents in Cottage Grove are working to create an ordinance that would prevent level three sex offenders from moving in to the town.

The move comes after residents learned convicted sex offender, Howard Nyberg, would be moving to a home on Gaston Circle in the Town of Cottage Grove [and home was burnt down by a vigilante].

“It was just a complete shock to us that they could just do something like this without getting any input from the citizens of that community,” said Rick Smith, who lives in Cottage Grove and is pushing for the ordinance.

Smith says the community is not asking that all sex offenders be ban, just level three offenders.

“Those are the ones that are begin placed in the neighborhood that are the greatest threat to re-offend and also really decrease property values,” Smith said.

Other towns and cities have ordinances in place restricting where sex offenders can live. But Rep.Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc) is now working on a bill that would create statewide a statewide standard, that would supersede any existing municipal ordinance.

Lawmakers try to reform sexually violent predator statute

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2-26-15 Washington:

SPOKANE, Wash. - In Washington, civil commitment keeps the state's most violent sexual predators confined to McNeil Island, a center on an island in the southern end of the Puget Sound. In order to be housed at McNeil Island, prosecutors have to prove that a convicted criminal is a violent sexual predator who is likely to reoffend. Predators serve their criminal sentence and then are civilly committed to McNeil Island.

However, the violent sexual offenders aren't confined forever. Sometimes they're released and are given the chance to live freely among their victims. Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson wants to change the law to make it more difficult for them to get out, and so do the victims of the attackers.

Crime Tracker Kalae Chock talked to a woman in North Idaho who was violently raped in the early 90s by a man named Monte Hoisington. Amy did not want to use her entire name or show her face because she's worried Hoisington will come after her again. He served time for rape in Idaho in the 70s, then raped Amy. He served time in the 90s for raping her and then was civilly committed to McNeil Island for 10 years. However, he was released a few years ago and now lives just 50 miles away from Amy in Coeur d'Alene.

Testimony chips away at state's sex offender program

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2-26-15 Minnesota:

Administrators said program lacks the staff and funding to determine if certain sex offenders should be released.

In a damaging courtroom sequence this week, top administrators at Minnesota’s sex offender treatment program admitted they don’t know if men confined for years at high-security treatment centers still deserve to be in custody.

Two high-level directors at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) said the program lacked the staff and money to conduct regular evaluations, and that as a result, the state may be detaining untold numbers of sex offenders who no longer meet the state’s legal requirement for confinement.

The surprising admission, in the third week of a landmark federal trial in St. Paul, cast new doubt on whether the state is violating the Constitution by confining sex offenders for indefinite periods after they have already served their prison terms. The trial marks the first serious legal test of the 20-year-old program, which has been criticized for confining too many offenders for too long.

“How can you have a treatment program that doesn’t even know which of their clients are ready for release?” asked Roberta Opheim, the state ombudsman for mental health and developmental disabilities.

Man accused in fire at future home of sex offender released, charges not filed

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Unbelievable. His burnt face should be enough esp. since he has not explained how that happened. Visits his parent needing medical attention??? Now will he stick around?

2-26-2015 Wisconsin:

MADISON, Wis. - The man accused of burning down a Cottage Grove home before a convicted sex offender could move in appeared in court Thursday.

Russell A. Speigle, 50, was in court for a bond hearing, but no charges have been officially filed.

Prosecutors asked for a $500 cash bond, but Speigle’s attorney claimed his client is not a flight risk, and that he was in Muscoda visiting his parents when he was arrested Monday night.

“He had been in custody two days, not free to leave. He didn’t voluntarily admit himself and yet, four days later, there’s no criminal complaint because they don’t have enough facts upon which to charge him,” Speigle’s attorney, Bruce Rosen, said.

The judge agreed, and released Speigle on a signature bond Thursday afternoon.

Suspect in arson fire at home for sex offender in court

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Given the facts reported earlier its hard to believe he is not charged w/arson, at least the most recent one.

2-26-2015 Wisconsin:

DANE COUNTY (WKOW) -- A man suspected of starting a home on fire in Cottage Grove is out of jail and has not been charged in the case at this time.

Russell Speigle, 50, was arrested this week after a second fire broke out at a home on Gaston Circle. It was scheduled to house a convicted sex offender this month.

Speigle appeared in Dane County court on Thursday for a bond hearing. He was in Dane County Sheriff's Office custody on suspicion of arson but he could not be held longer than 72 hours without being charged. The DA's office has not yet filed charges.

A court commissioner ruled Thursday to release Speigle on a signature bond. The DA's office had asked for $500 cash bail. The office is expected to release a criminal complaint with a possible arson charge next week. ..Source.. by WXOW.com

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Amputee's case held up as example in sex offender program

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2-26-15 Texas:

Whitmire questions whether inmate poses enough of threat for program

CONROE - A 63-year-old triple amputee was ordered into civil commitment Wednesday as one of the state's most dangerous sex predators, even as lawmakers moved to limit such severely impaired offenders from the program in the future.

Tommy Dale Sells was ordered by a Montgomery County state district judge to enter the controversial program this summer after serving his 15-year sentence for assaulting a 6-year-old granddaughter in 2001.

In less than an hour, a jury voted to put Sells, who has only one arm and uses a wheelchair, into the program because they believed he was likely to commit another sex offense. At trial, prosecutors told the jury Sells committed his latest crime in 2000 while in his current condition.

He lost his limbs after being hit by a train in the 1980s, attorneys said during a three-day trial. Sells also has several other health problems and a hearing impairment.

Cottage Grove man arrested on suspicion of burning house intended for sex offender

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2-23-2015 Wisconsin:

Dane County authorities arrested a town of Cottage Grove man they say set fire to a house Sunday night in a vigilante effort to keep a sex offender from moving in there.

Russell A. Speigle, 50, was arrested on a tentative charge of arson for the fire, which destroyed a home at 4721 Gaston Circle in the town of Cottage Grove, Sheriff Dave Mahoney said Tuesday.

Investigators are now trying to determine if Speigle was also responsible for another fire that damaged the same house in December, Mahoney said.

They are also looking for some pieces of evidence that could connect Speigle to the fire, the Sheriff's Office said.

The home was to house 40-year-old Harold Nyberg as part of a supervised sex offender release program, over vocal opposition from the man's neighbors -- Speigle among them, Mahoney said.

The first fire, on Dec. 8, caused $90,000 worth of damage, the Sheriff's Office said. The home was repaired after that blaze, but is considered a total loss after Sunday's fire.

Sexually violent predator facility expansion planned for later this year

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2-23-15 Missouri:

A $2 million expansion of a Fulton sexually violent predator treatment facility is planned sometime this year.

Sexually violent predators are held indefinitely at Sex Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Services facilities, or SORTS, in Farmington and Fulton after completing lengthy prison sentences. About 20 individuals are committed to the controversial program each year. Currently, 207 patients are housed in the two facilities.

Instead of the typical 20-person influx, only seven were committed in the current year. That's partially because the Missouri Attorney General's Office in October put civil commitment trials on hold from last Dec. 1 to May 1, 2015, because of a federal lawsuit against the state alleging the program is unconstitutional. The trial is expected to begin in April.

Without the normal influx, the department did not need more than $2 million approved to pay for an expansion in the current fiscal year that ends June 30. So, officials plan to use that money — plus $500,000 in the 2016 fiscal year that begins July 1 — to open another 25-bed treatment unit in Fulton later this year.

Pennsylvania Sexual Responsibility and Treatment Program

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October 31, 2014

..Source..

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UPDATE: Fire at home set to house sex offender being treated as arson

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UPDATE: House hit twice by arson was to house sex offender

2-23-2015 Wisconsin:

COTTAGE GROVE (WKOW) – Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney said his department is treating a fire at a home in the 4700 block of Gaston Circle, in the Town of Cottage Grove, as arson.

The home, which was also damaged in a fire in December, was expected to soon house a convicted sex offender.

Howard Nyberg, 40, was scheduled to move in before the end of the month. Nyberg was convicted on two counts of sexual assault of a child in 1994. The neighborhood was originally told he would be moving in, after being released from a secure treatment facility, shortly before the first fire.

Mahoney said “clear evidence” indicated the first fire at the home, in December, was arson.

“We'll handle this investigation tonight like it was an arson,” Mahoney said of Sunday's fire (Feb 2015). “But we won't know for sure until we can get into the residence and begin investigating.”

“We have talked to neighbors and there are some leads that have come forward from individuals in the neighborhood and we'll be moving swiftly on those to try and bring an end to this,” Mahoney said.

Mahoney and other officials from the Dane County Sheriff's Department joined the Town of Cottage Grove Police Department at the scene of Sunday's fire.

Facility holds sex offenders who've served their time

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2-22-15 Virginia:

CHESAPEAKE

Rodney Bernard Jones has a history of grabbing young women's buttocks.

A clinical psychologist said the 52-year-old felon has a mental disorder that makes it difficult to control his predatory behavior and "makes him likely to engage in sexually violent acts," according to court documents.

After nearly 15 years in prison for sex assault, Jones was scheduled to be released April 1.

But the state attorney general wants him to be civilly committed to a state facility that houses sexually violent predators after they've served their time.

Once again, Jones must go before a judge or jury who will decide his fate.

Each year, an average of 132 inmates like Jones are evaluated for potential commitment. Of the cases the attorney general brings before the court, an estimated 90 percent end up being admitted to the state facility in central Virginia, according to state figures.

The Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation in Nottoway County houses 367 residents who are considered likely to re-offend and therefore unfit to re-enter society.

Reforms Planned For Texas' "Total Disaster" Sex Offender Program

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2-22-15 Texas:

At least one new lockup would be opened to house Texas' most violent sex predators and a lone judge no longer would handle all cases under sweeping reforms proposed to bring the state's troubled civil-commitment programs into constitutional compliance, the Houston Chronicle reports.

A complete restructuring of the 15-year-old program is being mapped out and a bill reflecting those changes will be filed soon. Legislative support is expected.

Even the name of the agency in charge of the civil commitment program would change, from the Office of Violent Sex Offender Management to the Texas Civil Commitment Office.

"We are having to have to start from scratch," said Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, who is working with other officials on the reforms. "What we have found is that this program was a model of how not to run a state program. It was a total disaster."

More than 360 convicted sex ..Continued.. by The Crime Report

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Attorney Talks Misconceptions In Sex Offender Program Trial

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2-22-15 Minnesota:

More than 700 civilly committed sex offenders are suing the state of Minnesota, arguing the program keeping them locked up is unconstitutional.

The offenders are locked up at state facilities in Moose Lake and St. Peter. Only three offenders in the history of the program have ever been released.

The judge in the case has given strong indications in prior rulings that he is likely to declare all or parts of the program unconstitutional. And that sets up the likely scenario groups of these offenders will be released.


Dan Gustafson, the attorney for the offenders, spoke about the trial with Esme Murphy on WCCO Sunday Morning.

He said that if the program is declared unconstitutional, hundreds of sex offenders won’t just be set free.

“I think what will happen is…there will be a process to amend the statute and work through a release evaluation program that satisfies due process,” he said.

If his side wins out, Gustafson said his clients are seeking for the state to re-evaluate them, so they could possibility live outside a maximum-security environment.

As for cost to taxpayers, he said the re-evaluations could end up saving money in the long run. Options like community-based placements are much cheaper than keeping offenders in a high-security environment. ..Source.. by CBS Local

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Reforms in the works for embattled sex offender program

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2-22-2015 Texas:

AUSTIN - At least one new lockup facility would be opened to house Texas' most violent sex predators and a lone judge no longer would handle all cases under sweeping reforms being considered to bring the state's troubled civil-commitment programs into constitutional compliance, officials involved in the negotiations confirmed. ..Source.. by Mike Ward and Anita Hassan

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Sex offender trial opens with contrasts

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2-21-15 Minnesota:

The trial in the lawsuit against Minnesota's program for treating its most dangerous sex offenders opened with contrasts: how two very similar states can have such dramatically different results in treating offenders.

About 20 years ago, Minnesota and Wisconsin established programs to treat sex offenders who seemed likely to recommit crimes. But where Minnesota's program has more than 700 offenders confined its facilities in Moose Lake and St. Peter, Wisconsin's Sand Ridge facility is home to 362 committed offenders, Deborah McCulloch, head of the Wisconsin program, said in court as the trial opened this week. It could stretch for several weeks.

Wisconsin's program has discharged 118 people; Minnesota's program has never unconditionally released someone back into society. Wisconsin has put 135 offenders on supervised release over the last two decades, but Minnesota has only given two people provisional release.

Minnesota's program is home to more than 50 men who have no adult records, meaning their only offenses were committed before they turned 18. Wisconsin has two, maybe three, individuals like that in its program, McCulloch said.

McCulloch's testimony was the first used by attorneys arguing the Minnesota Sex Offender Program is unconstitutional because it offers the promise of treatment to offenders, most who have already completed their prison sentences, but rarely lets anyone out of the prison-like facilities once they've been committed.

"Of course (the program) is hopeless, the door only swings one way," Dan Gustafson, the attorney for MSOP clients said in a packed St. Paul courtroom as offenders watched the trial streamed live 112 miles away in Moose Lake. "It's easy to get in, it's impossible to get out."

Habeas Appropriate after Civil Commitment Detainee SITS in cell -for years- with NO CC Trial

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COURT SAYS: This civil commitment opinion may not be cited as precedent by or to this court or any district court of the Ninth Circuit.

2-20-2015 California:

The Case: Bobby Joe Knight v Pam Ahlin (8-31-2013)

What Happened: Summarizing, the fellow was convicted went to prison, then nearing the end of his sentence the state filed a petition to have him civilly committed. He sits in prison or jail, not sure which, waiting for the civil commitment (CC) trial, his lawyer keeps asking for continuances and the prosecutor agrees.

After some period of time the fellow asks the court for another lawyer and the court says NO, so he sits and sits and sits for years. Finally he gets tired of this and files a state Habeas claiming his detention is unconstitutional and is denied by the state, appeals that and is denied. Then files a federal district court habeas -got to get relief somewhere- but they deny him as well.

So he appeals to the 9th Circuit, which effectively says, enough is enough, you cannot hold this man like this its unconstitutional. Here are their FINAL words:

The parties' joint motion to dismiss the appeal is GRANTED. Because there has ceased to be a case or controversy before this court, we DISMISS the appeal, VACATE the judgment below, and REMAND with directions to dismiss. See Log Cabin Republicans v. United States, 658 F.3d 1162, 1167-68 (9th Cir.2011). The petitions for rehearing and requests for rehearing en banc are DENIED as moot.

The Opinion filed March 13, 2013, and appearing at 709 F.3d 1296 (9th Cir.2013), is WITHDRAWN. It may not be cited as precedent by or to this court or any district court of the Ninth Circuit.

VACATED AND REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS TO DISMISS.

Now for those who wish to read all the whys and wherefores: First Opinion and Final Order.

OK, since you cannot cite this as authority, at least in the 9th Cir, what good is this and why post it?

It shows what is TOO LONG a waiting period (for the CC Trial), but leaves us wondering, where in-between the years is the turning point? This writer would think it is in the CC laws, but is it?

This is clearly a manifest injustice all around. The man lost years of his life..

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Sex offenders charged with phony crimes to clear space on supervision rolls

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2-20-15 Texas:
Grits for Breakfast has a wonderful piece on these Phony Crimes. Jump on over to their blog and enjoy.

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Sex offender in MN program: 'You know you're going to die there'

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2-19-15 Minnesota:

A sex offender who committed crimes as a juvenile testified Thursday he's no longer violent but still locked up in the state's sex offender program.

"All your hopes and dreams are taken away. You pretty much know you're going to die there ... that's how you get out," Craig Bolte told a federal court judge in a trial that could decide the future of the state's controversial program.

More than 700 civilly committed sex offenders are suing the state, claiming it's unconstitutional to keep them locked up indefinitely and that they don't get adequate treatment from the program, which is run by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Most were court-ordered to receive sex offender treatment after finishing their prison sentences. Offenders are confined to one of two Minnesota treatment facilities in Moose Lake or St. Peter.

The system was set up in the 1990s, when current civil commitment laws went into effect. But it's been under fire for rarely letting anyone out until recently.

Texas Has Quite Literally Run Out of Places to House Violent Sexual Predators

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2-19-15 Texas:

According to the head of the bluntly-named Office of Violent Sex Offender Management, the agency has run out of room to house the worst of the worst sex offenders who have been sent to the state's controversial civil commitment program.

At least two convicts are currently finishing their sentences and are slated to enter the program by next week, agency director Marsha McLane warned the Senate Finance Committee yesterday. More than two dozen are set to enter the program by August. And there's nowhere to put them. McLane told lawmakers she's actively searching for places willing to house the offenders, but that, "everyone I've called, no one has come up with a building we can move into."

The program, which keeps convicts labeled by the state as sexually violent predators confined to halfway houses and boarding homes, supposedly aims to treat offenders classified as having "behavioral abnormalities" -- a legal construct more than it is an actual diagnosed condition.

Dogged reporting over the past year by Anita Hassan and Mike Ward at the Houston Chronicle has unearthed a number of glaring problems with the program. While the courts have allowed civil commitment programs in 19 other states, critics charge the Texas version is purely punitive, meant to keep offenders in custody indefinitely and therefore could be unconstitutional. And while the program was created by lawmakers in 1999 as a way to treat and transition offenders safely back into the community, not a single offender has completed the program in its nearly 16 year history.

Residents of Cottage Grove neighborhood call for new, town ordinance with sex offender set to move in

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2-19-15 Wisconsin:

Residents of the Town of Cottage Grove, who live near the future home of a convicted sex offender, will call on local officials to help remove him from their neighborhood.

Howard Nyberg, 40, will be living under supervised release at a home in the 4700 block of Gaston Circle. Nyberg is being released from a state treatment facility. He was convicted on two counts off second degree, sexual assault of a child in 1994.

Murali Kudipudi lives next door to Nyberg's future home along with his wife and three kids.

“A house is your safe haven,” Kudipudi said. “If you feel stressed, you want to go take rest in your house. But when you feel stressed to even go into your own home, that's the most uncomfortable situation in your life.”

State Scrambling to Find Housing for Sex Offenders

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2-18-15 Texas:

The state agency responsible for supervising, monitoring and providing treatment to sexually violent predators is facing a housing crisis, officials told state lawmakers on Wednesday.

The Office of Violent Sex Offender Management is out of space to house sex offenders being released from prison, agency officials told state lawmakers during a hearing of the House Appropriations subcommittee on health and human services.

“Everyone I’ve called, no one has come up with a building we can move into,” said Marsha McLane, executive director of the Office of Violent Sex Offender Management.

The agency was created by the Texas Legislature in 2011 to track sexually violent predators and provide them treatment through a civil commitment program in an effort to reduce the likelihood of repeated predatory behavior.

By state law, sexual predators are defined as individuals who have committed at least two sexually violent offenses and suffer from a “behavioral abnormality” that deems them a threat to society. When those individuals are released from prison, they can be ordered to enter the agency’s civil commitment program.

But contracts with the agency’s two largest housing vendors, which provide housing for 136 individuals, are set to expire this year, and the vendors have indicated they’re not planning to renew them.

Texas senator: Sex offenders program not working as intended

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2-18-15 Texas:

Some experts are raising concerns about Texas' civil committment program for sex offenders, saying it has run afoul of the Constitution, the Houston Chronicle reports.

The program is meant to treat and monitor these offenders, but records apparently show it is nothing more than a "revolving door." New arrivals are ushered in while its present charges are sent to prison, usually on minor rule infractions.

RELATED: Texas sex offender program has long list of rules

"There's no question to me that they revoked more people when they ran out of beds, so they could continue committing people to the program," said Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston. "That's absolutely not the way this program was supposed to work." ..Source.. by John-Henry Perera

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Sheran, state follow Minnesota Sex Offender Program trial with caution

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2-18-15 Minnesota:

Minnesota’s Sex Offender Program entered its second week of scrutiny in St. Paul, as the class action lawsuit questioning its constitutionality revealed two widely differing viewpoints.

State Sen. Kathy Sheran, DFL-Mankato, continues to watch the trial unfold, a scenario she had hoped the Minnesota Legislature would have avoided by taking leadership and action to make changes to the program. Sheran, whose senate district includes St. Peter and Nicollet County, stressed at the start of the 2015 legislative session that the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) needed to be amended before the Feb. 9 trial opened.

“I obviously believe that the court has given us plenty of direction on what they would like the Legislature to do,” Sheran said prior to the start of the trial. “They’ve given us time to make changes to the system.”

But others disagreed. Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, has been vocal in suggesting the trial run its course, which could be several weeks. After that, Cornish said, the Legislature can assess the court ruling and either appeal or begin to redefine the MSOP.

It’s a tough case either way, both admit.

“The public has become very fearful,” said Sheran. “The public does not have empathy for sex offenders.”

Funding woes add to that dilemma, as the Minnesota Department of Human Services estimates that the MSOP costs $341 a day to treat and house patients, or $124,000 annually. With over 700 individuals in the MSOP, total costs to the system are climbing close to $9 million a year.

Gov. Mark Dayton has proposed an additional $6.8 million in state funding over the next two years which would be used to evaluate patients more often and move some to facilities less restrictive than St. Peter and Moose Lake, both which house MSOP clients.

OUR OPINION: Minnesota needs workable strategy for placing dangerous sex offenders

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2-18-15 Minnesota:

At best, Le Center’s new residency restrictions for Level 3 predatory offenders gives residents a false sense of security. At worst, the approval encourages other cities to follow suit.

Council members, in approving the ordinance which effectively forbids dangerous offenders from moving into town, did so, they said, to “help residents feel safe” after the state located a sex offender in a group home just yards from a city park.

But study after study shows that residency restrictions have the opposite effect, often sending offenders underground and making it impossible to keep tabs on them. Other research shows that because they’re the most closely watched, Level 3 offenders are the least likely to reoffend.

And while we often talk about “stranger danger,” a U.S. Bureau of Justice study shows more than 93 percent of juvenile sexual abuse victims and 73 percent of all sexual abuse victims knew their abusers.

City leaders, though, make two excellent points.

Patients Testify In Lawsuit Over Sex Offender Program

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2-18-15 Minnesota:

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) — For the first time, we’re hearing from patients in Minnesota’s sex offender program. They say the state’s system of treatment is broken.

It’s the second week of testimony in the class action lawsuit, which seeks to have the program ruled unconstitutional. Fourteen sex offenders now in treatment are suing the state. They claim placement in the program equates to a life term with no chance of release.

In the program’s 20-plus years, more than 700 sex offenders have been civilly committed. But only three have been released from treatment.

After hearing from the expert witnesses who weighed in on the sex offender treatment program, we’re now hearing from those civilly committed, the plaintiffs who say they’ve lost any hope of ever getting out.

When Dennis Steiner pleaded guilty to having sex with young boys back in 1992, he was told he’d spend four years of treatment in St. Peter’s Sex Offender Program. Twenty three years later, he’s still waiting for release.

Sex offender describes years trying for release from program

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2-17-15 Minnesota:

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota sex offender is testifying about his frustrations over spending the past 23 years trying to get out of the state's civil commitment program.

Dennis Richard Steiner is the first patient to take the stand in a class-action lawsuit. More than 700 offenders say the program is unconstitutional because releases almost never happen.

The 65-year-old Steiner admits molesting 31 boys. He testified Tuesday that he has been through about 24 primary therapists during his years in the program.

Steiner says he keeps participating because he sees it as his only chance for release. He says he believes the lawsuit is the only reason he was recently endorsed to move into a program to prepare for release. ..Source.. by STEVE KARNOWSKI

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Suit against Minnesota Sex Offender Program enters 2nd week

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2-17-15 Minnesota:

ST. PAUL, Minn. - A federal judge has rejected a motion to strike testimony from four court-appointed experts who've said at least some of the more than 700 people civilly committed to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program should be released.

Minnesota Deputy Attorney General Nathan Brennaman asked U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank on Tuesday to disregard those portions of the experts' testimony. He said their opinions were prejudicial because none of the experts could name any specific offenders who they think shouldn't be in the program, apart from two exceptions.

But Frank said he considered the state's objections a non-issue and proceeded with the trial, which entered its second week Tuesday.

The class-action lawsuit is challenging the constitutionality of the sex offender program. Two residents in the program are scheduled to testify Tuesday afternoon. ..Source.. by KARE11.com

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Texas is having big problems with its most violent sex offenders

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Problem with the offenders? Whats the problem?

2-17-15 Texas:

In 1999, the Texas Legislature created a special program to keep the most dangerous sex offenders off the streets once they completed their prison sentences.

But that program, which is run by the Office of Violent Sex Offender Management, has faced a number of issues during the previous year.

These problems came to light after it was revealed that violent offenders in the program were placed into residential areas in Austin and Houston without advanced public notice, according to an investigation by the Houston Chronicle.

The investigation revealed irregularities in contracting and lax oversight. Since then, all of the top staff at the violent sex offender office have resigned or transferred to other state agencies.

Sex offenders back to prison to make room in treatment program

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2-15-15 Texas:

Short on room in treatment program, many convicted of minor rule violations

The state of Texas routinely sent sex offenders back to prison as new arrivals entered its "civil commitment" program, lacking funds to accommodate all of those being confined for what is supposed to be on-going treatment. ..Source.. sub req.. by Mike Ward and Anita Hassan

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Editorial, 1/29: To stop sex re-offenders

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2-15-15 Nebraska:

A story in the Sunday Journal Star provided a rare look at the life of a man trying to support himself after serving his sentence on a conviction of rape.

Identified in the story by the pseudonym “Caesar,” the story by Nancy Hicks recounted anecdotes that made clear how crucial the STOP program is in helping convicts avoid committing additional sex crimes when they get out.

For example, the program helped Caesar cope with events like losing a job after an employer learned of his record. Caesar told of walking home after he was fired, passing up bars because alcohol leads him to trouble, remembering what Lincoln psychologist Mary Paine teaches:

“There’s nothing so bad we can’t fix, as long as you don’t re-offend.”

The Sexual Trauma/Offense Prevention Program helps keep about 50 men in Lincoln from committing sex crimes.

It helps keep the public safe. And it’s cheaper than other programs that deal with sex offenses.

State commissioner testifies limited resources prevent big changes in sex offender program

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2-13-15 Minnesota:

Limited funding has kept state officials from making broad changes to Minnesota's sex offender treatment program, the state's human services commissioner testified Friday in a federal lawsuit over the program's constitutionality.

Attorneys for more than 700 people civilly committed under the program say it's unconstitutional because release is nearly impossible. They have argued the program is understaffed and ineffective in rehabilitating sex offenders.

Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson said Friday that she's made some improvements to the program in her four years on the job, including moving more patients through treatment to the point where they can petition for provisional release.

But Jesson said her department would need more funding for bigger adjustments, like contracting with the private sector to provide less-restrictive facilities for some patients.

State grilled over stalled changes to sex offender program

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2-13-15 Minnesota:

A lawyer representing people locked up in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program pressed the state's human services chief Friday to explain why Minnesota's done little to change the system.

Dan Gustafson grilled state Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson over why the state is dragging its feet on a long list of recommended changes to the program, including an independent panel to evaluate clients, creation of a special court to handle commitment cases and a firmer timeline for decisions about confinement.

The recommendations came from a state task force, but Jesson conceded the state had not acted on them. She said even she thought the system for evaluating and possibly releasing clients was flawed when she arrived in 2011.

"It took too long," she testified.

Official: Funding Limits Big Changes In Sex Offender Program

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2-13-15 Minnesota:

Limited funding has kept state officials from making broad changes to Minnesota’s sex offender treatment program, the state’s human services commissioner testified Friday in a federal lawsuit over the program’s constitutionality.

Attorneys for more than 700 people civilly committed under the program say it’s unconstitutional because release is nearly impossible. They have argued the program is understaffed and ineffective in rehabilitating sex offenders.

Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson said Friday that she’s made some improvements to the program in her four years on the job, including moving more patients through treatment to the point where they can petition for provisional release.

But Jesson said her department would need more funding for bigger adjustments, like contracting with the private sector to provide less-restrictive facilities for some patients. ..Continued.. by CBS Minnesota

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Human Services Commissioner to Testify in Constitutionality Trial

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2-13-15 Minnesota:

Minnesota human services commissioner Lucinda Jesson is set to testify in a trial over the constitutionality of the state's sex offender treatment program.

The attorney representing the offenders says they have almost no chance of getting out as the program is currently run.

Right now Under state law, a person found to be sexually dangerous or have a sexual psychopathic personality can be civilly committed.

In the program's 21-year-history, more than 700 people have been indefinitely committed.

No one has been fully released, but two people are currently on provisional discharge under intense supervision.

The state rejects the claim that the program is unconstitutional, saying in the program offers adequate care and security. ..Source.. by Mitch Keegan

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Part-3: Minnesota Sex Offender Program Likely to Be Declared Unconstitutional

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Part-1 ... Part-2 ... Part-3

2-12-2015 Minnesota:

Many Minnesotans may not like the fact that convicted sex offenders have rights, but the reality is that they do. While civil commitment is a viable option for keeping people who are considered too dangerous to be living among the general population off the streets, the state and federal courts have determined that a set of criteria must be followed for the commitment process to be lawful. This is where the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) has come into question.

For a civil commitment program to be considered lawful it must provide adequate treatment, and the goal of that treatment must be the eventual release of those in the program. The state of Minnesota never intended for anyone to leave the MSOP, so there was no real reason to provide long-term treatment.

According to the Duluth News Tribune, a client in the state’s sex offender program spends an average of six hours in treatment each week. In contrast, Washington State requires inmates in the state’s sex offender treatment program to take six to ten hours of treatment per day. Even the sex offender program for the Minnesota Department of Corrections requires inmates to attend ten to fifteen hours of treatment a week. Clearly the MSOP is falling short of any acceptable standard.

Part-2: Minnesota Sex Offender Program Faces Unfriendly Fire in Court

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Part-1 ... Part-2 ... Part-3

2-11-2015 Minnesota:

Yesterday, Minnesota found itself on trial, attempting to defend the state’s Sex Offender Program (MSOP) before federal court Judge Donovan Frank. Dan Gustafson, an attorney representing clients in the program, depicted the treatment environment as “hopeless” with a “climate of despair” existing at the two facilities.

Deputy Attorney General Nathan Brennaman painted an entirely different picture. He described the program as a “positive environment,” staffed by “caring professionals” who do their best to ensure that a therapeutic environment exists for these men. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, he even went as far as to point out that Minnesota “does some things better than any other sex offender program in the country.”

Despite Mr. Brennaman’s positive depiction of the Sex Offender Progam, a broad-based consensus among the program’s critics suggests that the program is fraught with problems. Judge Frank himself chastised the program and its policies during a hearing last February, referring to it as “clearly broken” and “Draconian.” He implored state lawmakers to take action to change the program before the matter came before his court.

A task force of treatment and legal experts was convened earlier last year to study proposed changes that would enable program to withstand legal challenges. The committee recommended the formation of a panel to oversee the commitment of sex offenders, instead of leaving it to elected judges to decide. The group also called for the release of less violent offenders to less restrictive settings, and for a panel of three judges to be created that would determine the conditions under which patients might be provisionally discharged from civil commitment.

Part-1: Minnesota Sex Offender Program Faces Scrutiny in Court

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Part-1 ... Part-2 ... Part-3

2-10-2015 Minnesota:

Minnesota goes into the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota today to defend the state’s controversial civil commitment program for sex offenders before U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank. There are currently more than 700 “clients” in the Minnesota sex offender program. On a per capital basis, Minnesota’s civil commitment program far exceeds any of the 20 other state-run civil commitment programs. California, with ten times the population, is the only state that has more convicted sex offenders in civil commitment than Minnesota.

Minnesota was in the middle of the pack in terms of the number of civilly committed sex offenders until 2003. That changed after 22 year-old Dru Sjodin was raped and murdered by Alfonso Rodriguez, a convicted sex offender who reportedly told officials at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Moose Lake, MN, that he would commit further sex-related crimes if he were released. Neverthelesss, he was released in May of 2003, only to murder Ms. Sjodin in November of the same year. Within a week of Ms. Sjodin’s disappearance, Rodriguez, 61, was arrested found guilty in federal court of the kidnapping, rape, and murder. He is currently prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, awaiting execution.

Ms. Sjodin’s disappearance on November 22, 2003 triggered nationwide media coverage of the case and ultimately resulted in the creation of the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Registry. It also led to a drastic overhaul of Minnesota’s policies toward sex offenders by then Governor Tim Pawlenty and Minnisota Department of Health Services (DHS) officials, resulting in the widespread use of civil commitment for sex offenders to virtually incarcerte an increasingly numbers of convicted sex offenders for indefinite periods of time without concern for their civil liberties.

Sharkey v O'Neal

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2-11-2015 California:

Very confusing case, but it begins when the fellow was on parole living in a place that was suitable for his disabilities (Wheelchair and other related needs) for a period of time. Then out of the blue his NEW parole officers appeared and told him he had to move IMMEDIATELY, like within hours, they didn't care where just get out because HERE you are violating Jessica's law on residency restrictions.

Parole officers forced him to move to a motel which was not able to accommodate any of his needs as a person with a few qualified disabilities; parole officers didn't care. While in this motel the fellow got hurt because of the lack of accommodations required by his qualified disabilities. Parole officers did not even try to find a place which was appropriate for him, just kept telling him he had to stay in the motel.

If that wasn't enough problems for him, then the state -at the end of his perole period less a few days- proceeded to civilly commit him. He appealed see HERE and lost, court cited time limits.

Next he appeals to the 9th circuit which resulted in a reversal and remand because the court used the wrong statute in calculating time limits; he won, his right under the Americans with Disability Act were violated. See HERE More info below...

State sees intolerance converge

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2-10-2015 Minnesota:

The U.S. remains the only industrialized country that continues to promote endless punishment for most of its offenders and deny effective rehabilitation of people who make mistakes and poor judgment.

A trial started this week before U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank in Minneapolis against the State of Minnesota Sex Offender Civil Commitment law.

Under the law, people convicted of some sex crimes and who are determined to be sexually dangerous or to have a sexual psychopathic personality can be placed in a treatment facility indefinitely, often after serving a statutory criminal justice sentence rather than being released to society.

The law has been in place for at least 21 years. At least 700 people have been indefinitely committed to high-security facilities in Moose Lake and St. Peter. No one has been fully released. Among those detained are people who were very young when they offended, including some who likely had not learned yet how to navigate sexual norms of society.

According to recent news reports, Minnesota has the highest number of civilly committed sex offenders per capita among the 20 states that have similar laws.

Critics' case

Critics of the program have several arguments. First, it amounts to a life sentence based not on any particular conviction, but the fear people might offend in the future.

Misconduct at Washington State Civil Commitment Center as Concern Grows Over Releases

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2-10-2015 Washington:

Washington state’s Special Commitment Center (SCC), which was created to house and treat prisoners classified as violent sexual predators, has become the focus of investigations into staff misconduct. Additionally, the growing number of releases from the facility has worried local residents because many of the freed sex offenders are settling in nearby communities.

SCC, located on remote McNeil Island, once housed state prisoners but was taken over by the Washington Department of Social and Health Services after the Department of Corrections ended operations on the island in 2010. [See: PLN, Sept. 2011, p.42]. The facility, which is designed to treat offenders’ mental conditions that cause violent sexual behavior, is also linked to a neighboring halfway house and another halfway house in Seattle.

Sex offenders held at SCC have finished their prison sentences but remain in “civil detention” under a state program that civilly commits offenders who meet the legal definition of violent sexual predator. That decision is made by a jury, in part based on the likelihood that the offender will commit more crimes if released.

SCC has 371 employees. According to an investigation by The Seattle Times, the facility has been plagued by absenteeism, staff misconduct and flawed employment screening. [See: PLN, May 2011, p.34]. In 2012, for example, eight employees were fired, four were suspended and another 26 received letters of reprimand.

Despite the sexually violent nature of the offenders housed at SCC, employees’ access to Internet pornography was a major component of staff misconduct. During 2012, the facility disciplined 16 employees for viewing Internet porn while on the job, including two who were subsequently fired.

One of the terminated workers, Sammie Neely, used his work computer to visit “103 unauthorized and non-work related sites ... during February and March 2012.” He appealed his firing and was later allowed to resign.

Is the Minnesota Sex Offender Program unconstitutional? We're about to find out

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2-10-2015 Minnesota:

The opening day of trial in the lawsuit against Minnesota’s program for treating its most dangerous sex offenders was a study in contrasts — how two very similar states can have such dramatically different results in treating offenders.

About 20 years ago, both Minnesota and Wisconsin established programs to treat sex offenders who seemed likely to recommit their crimes. But where Minnesota’s program has more than 700 (and growing) offenders confined in its facilities in Moose Lake and St. Peter, Wisconsin's Sand Ridge facility is home to 362 committed offenders, Deborah McCulloch, head of the Wisconsin program, said in court Monday.

Wisconsin’s program has discharged 118 people in that time; Minnesota’s program has never unconditionally released someone back into society. Wisconsin has put 135 offenders on supervised release over the last two decades, but Minnesota has only given two people provisional release. Minnesota’s program is home to more than 50 men who have no adult records, meaning their only offenses were committed before they turned 18. Wisconsin has two, maybe three, individuals like that in its program, McCulloch said.

McCulloch’s testimony was the first used by attorneys arguing the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) is unconstitutional because it offers the promise of treatment to offenders — most of whom have already completed their prison sentences — but rarely lets anyone out of the prison-like facilities once they’ve been committed.

Sexual predator act continue to be named for Jimmy Ryce

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2-10-2015 Florida:

Hearings conducted to keep violent sexual offenders nearing the end of their sentence continued and off the street are named after Jimmy Ryce, a boy who was abducted, raped and killed by a convicted sexual predator in Redland, Fla. in 1995.

Last year during News4Jax special coverage of sexual offenders, we reported information received from the State Attorney's Office that the Ryce family wanted the name of the act changed. That is not true.

Jimmy Ryce's father, Don Ryce, issued a statement about the issue:

"I would like to address my family’s position regarding the Florida law named after my son, Jimmy Ryce, who was abducted, raped and murdered on September 11, 1995.

"It makes my blood boil when I keep hearing that we want Jimmy’s name removed from the Jimmy Ryce Act. This is absolutely ridiculous and has no merit whatsoever.

Convicted murderer says he won't challenge sexually violent designation

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2-10-2015 Illinois:

PEKIN — An attorney for a convicted murderer due to be released Monday on parole told a Tazewell County judge that his client might sign off on being held in custody possibly for the rest of his life.

Luke Taylor, who was assigned to represent Paul R. Phillips, told Judge Paul Gilfillan on Monday that his client didn’t want to bother the victim’s family and just wanted to get the entire thing over with. That “thing” is a petition by Tazewell County State’s Attorney Stuart Umholtz to have Phillips, 61, declared a sexually violent person.

Such a designation, if found by a jury, would mean Phillips, who was due to be released from prison after serving about half of a 70-to-95-year term for the 1976 slaying of Brenda Kay Roberts, 21, of Morton, would remain in custody, albeit at a secure Department of Human Services facility in Rushville.

Approved about 15 years ago, the state’s Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act allows prosecutors to involuntarily commit a person if he shows a substantial likelihood he will commit a sexually violent act in the future.

A prosecutor or the Attorney General’s Office will file a request in civil court seeking commitment. A judge must first decide if there is enough cause to proceed, then two more evaluations must be done, one by an expert chosen by the inmate. Finally, there is a trial.

Minnesota Sex Offender Program violates human rights

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2-10-2015 Minnesota:

The Associated Press reported this week on the Minnesota Sex Offender Program. This civil commitment program allows the state to place sex-offenders who have finished their prison sentences into high-security custody for an indefinite period. In other words, if sex-offenders meet certain, supposedly objective criteria, Minnesota holds the authority to put them in a penal dungeon, with little hope of release within their lifetime. This is not only a violation of due process, but a complete removal of any of the needed neutral tendencies of law.

A federal judge and attorneys for the near 700 occupants of the Minnesota facility argue that the nature of the state’s program is unconstitutional in execution and founding.

The AP described the criteria for a constitutionally cleared civil commitment program as follows: “The person must pose a high danger, have some form of mental disorder that makes it difficult to control behavior, and commitment must not be punitive – which means it has to provide legitimate treatment.”

The difficulty with Minnesota’s program is the blind nature of the lock ups, and the attempt at using a universal method of treatment. When dealing with mentally disabled or sociopathic sex-offenders, there can be no assumption that all inmates are identical. This is the nature of mental handicaps and chemical imbalances—no two are the same.

Apart from the blanket treatment method, the program also does not conduct regular assessments of individuals within their care to determine if they still fit the criteria to be housed there. Theoretically, this could lead to an inmate who is ready to reenter society being stored indefinitely in a dusty corner of Minnesota state property, with their right to attempt an adjusted life stripped away.

Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation Audit

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Audits:

Source Virginia State Auditor's Office:

• Audit 2014
  

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