It’s hard to know what Jacob Sullem is getting at.
Why are only these criminals treated this way? It is unfair that other criminals, including murderers, are treated differently. I find it abhorrent that sex criminals are detested to such an extreme that unjust treatment goes on because we think it won’t ever happen to us. Is murder more forgivable than rape?
Step one to normalizing the behaviors. Also see tagline.
We treat sex criminals differently mainly based on the claims of mental health “experts” who are incapable of curing any of sort of mental disorder anyhow. About all they do in these hospitals is apply drugs and ECT. Both of those “treatments” invariably make the patients worse and more likely to reoffend. Their is no treatment for these criminals that actually works and gets results. Not one. The shrinks’ claims otherwise are simply part of their scam.
Of course this dirty truth about the Mental Health Industry applies to non-sexual based criminals as well. In any case if you want to keep sex criminals locked up forever than make life imprisonment the penalty for the crime. Using shrinks and their fraudulent and destructive system as an end run around basic human rights is wrong. After all if a bank robber says he plans to rob again, he gets released after his sentence ends. He wouldn’t get parole but when the full sentence is up out he goes. Sex criminals should not be treated any differently. Otherwise this trick will be used to keep other types of offenders locked up indefinitely according to the whims of the State.
I’d rather worry about a few more perverts running around than the dangers of a State that can lock up anyone indefinitely based on the opinion of shrinks... arguably the most crazy people of all.
The crux of the issue is deprivation of civil rights under the law. The basic precept is that you can detain someone convicted of a crime for a specified sentence period as incarceration. Or you can detain someone for court ordered treatment; but only as long as it takes to provide that treatment. Once treatment is done, that person is to be released. He cannot be subject to continued incarceration just because you have a hunch he may reoffend. Likewise, The idea that you can hold someone indefinitely under the guise of “treating him” violates the persons rights.
This differs from NGRI btw. When someone is found not guilty by reason of insanity the rules are different. In those cases, the person is subject to periodic “risk assessment” to determine if he is to be released.
This article is light on the facts. The process by which people are civilly committed for child molesting is no different than the process by which people with mental health issues are civilly committed. There is a court trial where the person can have an attorney and can be evaluated by outside doctors. This isn’t a criminal trial, but a matter of public safety based on state law. The people in these states passed these civil commitment statutes and the opponents want the Supreme Court to overturn these laws. Just like people who are insane and have exhibited or stated they have a propensity to harm others, civilly committed molesters remain in custody until they can show they won’t harm others. These pervs told their doctors these things, which is why they are still committed.
This isn’t the big bad federal government keeping people in secret gulags, but people in states passing laws to protect themselves from predators who will never stop making victims of children.
So lock down states, and leave the border wide open! Hypocrisy on covid to the ninth degree!