NCJ Number
137515
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1992) Pages: 127- 142
Date Published
1992
Length
16 pages
Annotation
The constitutional and empirical viability of laws providing special legal and medical treatment for mentally ill sex offenders is examined with emphasis on recent research and litigation.
Abstract
By the mid-1960's, more than half the States had enacted such laws. The laws have been challenged on a variety of constitutional grounds; litigation has focused on their vagueness, equal protection, and due process. Because of these legal challenges, most States have abolished the laws themselves. Nevertheless, such laws still exist in 12 States, and a majority of States offer some form of sex offender treatment program through the auspices of either their mental health or corrections departments. The legal context in which the treatment or other dispositions of sex offenders take place varies extensively among jurisdictions, with structured programs, loosely structured programs, and ad hoc programs. The assumptions on which the laws and corresponding programs were founded are still being studied and debated. To evaluate treatment effectiveness and sex offender recidivism and to make informed decisions about programs, researchers and policymakers must both understand the ways in which the legal context and sex offender treatment programs influence one another. Notes and 42 references (Author abstract modified)