16 mentally ill patients who didn’t commit crime locked up in State Prison

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In New Hampshire it is appalling the way they co-mingle people in their single "Secure Psychiatric Unit" which is in a prison. Mentally ill folks, who haven't committed any crime, with civilly committed sex offenders following their prison sentence, and then prison inmates with mental problems. This article is hard to read, but is applicable -in part- to this blog.

November 10, 2015 New Hampshire:

CONCORD, NH — On any given day, men and women who have not committed or been accused of a crime are locked up behind razor-wire covered fencing at the State Prison for Men’s Secure Psychiatric Unit.

There are currently 15 men and one woman at SPU who haven’t been sent there for committing a crime, but have ended up staying anywhere from two months to one who has stayed for more than six years, according to Assistant Corrections Commissioner Helen Hanks.

They were admitted to SPU because they are mentally ill and too dangerous to themselves or others to be managed at the New Hampshire Hospital, where such patients are usually treated, Hanks said.

They are co-mingled in SPU with people sentenced under a variety of state laws including not guilty by reason of insanity and county or state prison inmates who are mentally ill and have been imprisoned for a range of crimes including murder, sexual assault, robbery and assault.

“It shocked me to find out there’s people who have never been convicted of a crime who are incarcerated behind the walls of state prison,” said Rep. Robert Cushing, D-Hampton, who toured the prison facility recently with other lawmakers.

NH DOC - New Wing of the Secure Psychiatric Unit/Residential Treatment Unit Opens

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6-2-2012 New Hampshire:

(Concord, N.H.) The New Hampshire Department of Corrections opened a new 8,000 square foot, forty bed wing of the Secure Psychiatric Unit/Residential Treatment Unit (SPU/RTU) in Concord on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. The new wing will be used to provide treatment and support for inmates with mental illness who are unable to function within the general prison population.

This was Phase II of a capital improvement project that was implemented in response to the 2007 Holliday Court Order which required the Department to co-locate a forty bed RTU and to maintain thirty beds for patients who are civilly committed to the SPU. In 2009 the New Hampshire Legislature allocated $3.3 million in capital funds for the project but it was completed under budget at a cost of approximately $2.8 million.

New Hampshire’s Civil Commitment Law is Flawed

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5-10-2013 New Hampshire:

Passed in 2007, the New Hampshire’s Civil Commitment Law was designed to keep sexually violent predators incarcerated if they are likely to offend because of a mental abnormality. The process, complex and deeply restricted, has not been widely used and carries serious flaws.

Civil Commitment Law

The civil commitment law was designed to keep sexually violent predators from being released after completing treatment, if they are likely to reoffend. County attorneys receive notification when an inmate who has committed an applicable crime nears their release date. If the attorney is concerned that the inmate has not been successfully rehabilitated, a multidisciplinary team of psychologists and psychiatrists who specialize in sexual offenses is brought in to review the case. If the inmate is deemed to be a sexually violent predator by a jury, their sentence can be extended in five-year increments.

However, if a jury decides the inmate is not likely to re-offend, the inmate is released. Unfortunately, the predator law does not include other options such as supervision or alternative sentences that could help with an inmate’s transition back into society.

Predator Law Evidence Limited, Funding Challenging

Reviewing New Hampshire’s Sexual Predator Law

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4-30-2013 New Hampshire:

In 2007, New Hampshire joined the growing group of states that can hold the most dangerous sex offenders past the end of their sentences in what is known as a “civil commitment.”

This notion has been controversial, pitting concerns over public safety against the rights of offenders.

And some in New Hampshire say the state’s law has some worrisome flaws. ..continued, with audio of broadcast.. by Brady Carlson

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Sexual predator law does not come cheap

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4-26-2009 New Hampshire:

The notion that some sexual predators are pathologically incapable of rehabilitation raises the thorny question of what society does with them once they've completed their full prison sentence. New Hampshire provided a partial answer to the question with a law that took effect in January 2008.

The Sexually Violent Predators Act authorizes prosecutors at the state or county level to petition the courts for continued incarceration in the secure psychiatric unit of the New Hampshire State Hospital, with the case to be reviewed at least every five years.

Judicial standards for such a review are understandably high. The state should not have the power to essentially extend a court-ordered prison sentence without good cause and due process, both of which are provided for in the law.

These cases involve a small number of extremely violent sexual offenders who typically refuse to participate in a sexual offender treatment program and show no remorse for their crimes.

Their convictions were for crimes specified in the involuntary commitment statutes, including murder with rape, violent rape and kidnapping or burglary with sexual assault intended.

Sex offender wants trial moved

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Notice how the media is affecting the person's right to a fair trial, and the vigilantism comments from area residents.

4-28-2009 New Hamshire:

Lawyer cites news media 'maelstrom'

Lawyers for the first sex offender to stand trial under the state's new sexually violent predator law want their case moved out of Manchester because of the news media "maelstrom" they say followed the recent dismissals of three other sex offender cases.

Although the news media coverage cited in the request for a venue change focused on those three cases, all dismissed this month because of court delays, lawyers for William Ploof, 49, argue the news coverage and online reader comments show their client can't get a fair trial when his case begins in May.

Ploof, of Manchester, is a convicted child sex offender who in June 2007 completed a 10-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting a male juvenile. But he remains in prison under a 2007 law that allows sex offenders to be incarcerated beyond their sentence if prosecutors can prove they remain dangerous and are likely to reoffend. If a jury concludes Ploof poses an ongoing threat, he will be held up to five years at a time for ongoing treatment.

Since the law took effect, county prosecutors across the state have tried to certify and further incarcerate seven sex offenders for continued treatment. Only two cases are still pending, however: Ploof's and one against Thomas Hurley, 42, also of Hillsborough County. Ploof is the only one, so far, to make it to trial. Hurley's case is set for trial in August.

Psychologist interprets sex offender test

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5-29-2009 New Hampshire:

Confronted yesterday with a state expert's pessimistic predictions about child molester William Ploof's future, his defense attorney tried a glass-half-full approach.

Public defender Lisa Wolford posed this question: If the state believes Ploof's history, failure at treatment and multiple offenses give him a 30 percent to 49 percent chance of re-offending within 10 years, doesn't that mean he also has a 70 percent to 51 percent chance of staying out of trouble?

Not exactly, psychologist Dr. Eric Mart told jurors.

The test used to evaluate Ploof's likelihood of re-offending based its predictions on a study of offenders who were actually rearrested or convicted, Mart said. The study had no way of counting those who offended but didn't get caught, Mart said, meaning that the predictions are conservative and that Wolford's percentages could apply either to law abiders or to criminals who are good at offending and not getting caught.

Ploof, 49, of Manchester, is the first person to stand trial under the state's new sex offender law, which allows the state to hold sex offenders past their prison sentences if jurors believe they are likely to commit more acts of sexual violence. Ploof has been held in prison pending this trial since he finished a 10-year sentence in 2007 for two sexual assaults on a young boy. If convicted, Ploof would be held for at least five years for additional treatment.

Jurors have already heard days of testimony about Ploof's past sexual assault convictions and his own claims to have molested an additional 20 to 50 people, most of them ages 14 to 17. Most of his victims have been male, and he approached most with offers of alcohol or friendship, state experts said. He's also assaulted a few young girls, according to prison records.

To qualify for commitment under the new law, Ploof must have at least one conviction for a sexually violent offense. He does; he sexually assaulted an 11-year-old boy in 1993 while swimming.

Sex offender to remain incarcerated

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Unfortunately the media is using the wrong terms here, it is important to distinguish between "Prison and Civil Commitment." Compounding the problem is that New Hamshire civil commitment program is "Detaining" sex offenders in the state's "Secure Psychiatric Unit / Residential Treatment Unit" which happens to be in the State Prison at Concord.

6-4-2009 New Hampshire:

Convicted child molester William Ploof will spend up to another five years incarcerated for treatment because a jury decided yesterday he remains a sexually violent predator who's likely to strike again.

The jury of four men and eight women returned its verdict about 2:30 p.m., after deliberating for about 6½ hours over two days. Ploof did not visibly react as the verdict was read. His public defenders, Lisa Wolford and Anthony Sculimbrene, are expected to appeal.

Ploof, 49, of Manchester, is the first person to be tried under the state's new sex offender law, which allows sex offenders to be held past their prison sentences if a jury believes they remain dangerous and are likely to re-offend.

Gov. John Lynch, who pushed for the new sex offender law, issued a statement yesterday afternoon applauding the verdict.

"I am pleased to see that this law is working," the statement said. "The safety of our children is our greatest priority as a state. This act has created a fair and comprehensive judicial process to evaluate sexually violent predators and ensure that these dangerous criminals are not released back into our communities without proper rehabilitation and treatment."

Ploof finished a 10-year sentence in 2007 for sexually assaulting a young boy twice in the 1990s. He's also claimed between 20 and 50 other victims, according to prison records. At trial, prosecutors Michael Valentine and Ross McLeod of the Hillsborough County Attorney's Office argued that Ploof is a pedophile who's unable to control his sexual urges and therefore likely to commit more acts of sexual violence.

Predator law faces big tests

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Unfortunately the media is using the wrong terms here, it is important to distinguish between "Prison and Civil Commitment." Compounding the problem is that New Hamshire civil commitment program is "Detaining" sex offenders in the state's "Secure Psychiatric Unit / Residential Treatment Unit" which happens to be in the State Prison at Concord.

6-7-2009 New Hampshire:

With the state's first sexually violent predator now confined, perhaps indefinitely, the state's new sexual predator law faces its biggest tests: How rigorous and effective will the state's treatment be, and will William Ploof, 49, have a fair chance of eventually earning his freedom?

To do so, he must persuade a judge that through treatment he is unlikely to commit more acts of sexual violence.

State officials have developed a five-page policy laying out the kinds of treatment sexual predators like Ploof will receive, and the director of the Department of Corrections' forensics and medical services division, Robert MacLeod, says he is committed to providing individualized, intense treatment.

"Any of the residents coming in here under (the new sexual predator law), I can assure you, will be treated appropriately according to medical models," MacLeod said. "It will not be punishment. It will be treatment. And as we move this program along, we hope that it will be successful for individuals."

Leo Keating, who oversees psychiatric care for sex offenders and others committed to the state's secure psychiatric unit, added to that: "If we are successful, the world will be a safer place."

Nothing civil about civil commitments

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6-14-2009 New Hampshire:

With the civil commitment of convicted sex offender William Ploof, New Hampshire has joined the nearly 20 states that have gone down an extremely expensive, marginally useful and legally dubious path.

Ploof, who has already served his full sentence for his crime, was ordered last week to spend up to five years in a section of the secure psychiatric unit that operates behind the Concord prison’s walls but is separate from it.

He will ostensibly receive individualized treatment from a range of experts who will endeavor to cure him of what a jury decided was an irresistible compulsion to molest children.

There are a host of things wrong with the state’s new law. The worst is that it was created to lock people up for what they think, or worse, for what others think they are thinking – not for what they did, but for what they might do. And once committed, studies from other states show, only a small percentage of offenders are ever released.

NH commits only 2 sex offenders

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1-2-2011 New Hampshire:

CONCORD, N.H. -- Four years ago, amid great fanfare, New Hampshire passed a law allowing the state to indefinitely lock up the worst sexual predators. The governor called it necessary to prevent the "immeasurable" cost to children. Defense attorneys decried it as an infringement on civil rights. Prison officials prepared for dozens to be targeted.

Yet since 2007, only two men - both convicted of sexually assaulting boys - have been civilly committed.

An Associated Press review found that of the 667 cases referred to county attorneys by the state in 2007, the year the law went into effect, and of the hundreds since, only 22 cases were selected for further review. Just eight passed muster for prosecution (CC Trial which is not a prosecution).

Supporters say the law was never intended to target a large group of offenders. ..Source.. by NORMA LOVE

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Editorial: NH Civil Commitment; Process Used Rarely But Too Often

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3-24-2013 New Hampshire:

Given that New Hampshire’s civil commitment law aims to prevent the most violent sexual predators from obtaining the opportunity to commit new crimes, a recent article reporting that the procedure has been used only rarely will disappoint many. Not us; we think it speaks well of New Hampshire prosecutors, judges and legislators, at least to the extent that it reflects a desire to apply an extreme measure only when they believe extraordinary circumstances warrant. In fact, because civil commitment incarcerates people for crimes they haven’t committed, we think circumstances can never justify its use.

New Hampshire is one of 20 states that uses civil commitments to maintain custody of sex offenders who have served out their maximum sentence, have not completed treatment and, based on their criminal history, are believed to pose a high risk of reoffending. County attorneys are notified when such offenders are on the verge of release and can request a team of specialists to evaluate the offender and determine if he should be categorized as a “sexually violent predator.” If that is the determination, the county attorney can then go to court and seek to prove that the offender is afflicted with a condition that makes him likely to reoffend. If the court agrees, a sex offender can be held for five years, although there is no limit to the number of five-year commitments the state can seek.

State’s sexually violent predator law used only rarely

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3-17-2013 New Hampshire:

In 2007, when New Hampshire began allowing the most dangerous sex offenders to be held past the end of their sentences, officials worried they might need a new facility to house all the people who would be committed.

Six years later, though, that projection hasn’t panned out.

Only two people are being held under the state’s sexually violent predator law. And two counties – including one with the second-highest court caseload in the state – have not initiated even one civil commitment.

The route, which can result in inmates being committed for treatment past their sentence in five-year increments, is complex and includes a jury trial where a prosecutor must prove the inmate has a mental abnormality that makes him likely to re-offend. The law, aimed at the most extreme cases, is deliberately narrow, and many county prosecutors who spoke with the Monitor said they use it infrequently because they rarely have cases they believe fit the statute.

But other prosecutors – particularly those who have gone through the process at least once – point to factors like funding, limited sentencing options under the statute and restrictions placed on what evidence is admissible in court as deterrents to using the law.

No county attorney said those challenges would keep him from going forward with a civil commitment if one was warranted.

But many said they will avoid it if they can.

“The (sexually violent predator) civil commitment process is flawed,” Merrimack County Attorney Scott Murray said. “And that is what necessitates the use of creative alternatives to protect the public.”

Last week, Murray’s office did just that.

After filing a civil commitment petition last year against 64-year-old Denis Gagne, a child rapist whose sentence was set to expire in June, prosecutors pulled the case on Wednesday when Gagne pleaded guilty to another assault on one of his prior victims.

The crime happened in 1989; his then 7-year-old victim is now 30.

Below projections

Passing the civil commitment law was former governor John Lynch’s top priority in 2006, a year when he was running for re-election. Earning the strong support of Democrats and Republicans, the legislation passed quickly and by a wide margin.

Under the law, county attorneys are notified by the state prison when an inmate who has committed one of several applicable crimes is nearing release. The Department of Corrections was unable to provide data on how many notices it sends out annually, but officials said that in general the number could range from none to about 20 each week. Several county attorneys told the Monitor that a majority of those inmates are granted parole, meaning they have likely completed sex offender treatment and wouldn’t qualify for an extended sentence.

If a county attorney believes a person they’ve received notice for remains a danger, they can ask for a review by the state’s multidisciplinary team, a group of licensed psychiatrists and psychologists who specialize in sex offender diagnosis and treatment. That’s happened 34 times since 2007.