A revival of interest in the use of the civil commitment process to confine sexually violent offenders being released from prison followed the 1997, Supreme Court decision in Kansas v. Hendricks, which upheld the constitutionality of such laws. Sixteen states have now passed sex offender commitment laws, and several others are actively considering legislation in this area. These laws raise several ethical issues for state mental health authorities who have been given the task of providing offender treatment services. The laws define paraphilias as mental illnesses requiring inpatient treatment, but many see their purpose as punitive and aimed at continuing confinement in the guise of therapy, especially since commitment is generally long-term. Some question the laws' dependence on actuarial risk assessments for post-release re-offending, since the static, historical factors on which these are based are not sensitive to changes in the offender or his environment, and may over-predict risk in some individuals. Justice requires that offenders are given opportunity for treatment and for community re-integration, but resources for offenders in the public mental health system may not be adequate or available. Mental health administrators also fear that that use of public psychiatric hospitals for sex offenders detracts from their primary mission and that the laws have had a stigmatizing effect on the civil commitment process and on individuals with serious mental illness. This paper presents an overview of these ethical issues and describes how one state mental health agency is addressing these concerns.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, the participant will be able to discuss the variety of ethical dilemmas that must be addressed by state mental health agencies required to provide treatment services to sex offenders who have been civilly committed after being released from prison.
Keywords: Ethics, Criminal Justice
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.