Law would jail pervs who might strike again

Convicted sex offenders who have completed their prison sentences but whom the state determines are likely recidivists will face institutionalization or intense supervision following their prison release, according to the Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act signed by Governor Eliot Spitzer.
Under the new law, mental health professionals will determine whether a detained sex offender is a likely to strike again due to a mental abnormality. The Attorney General would have the burden to prove the mental abnormality to a jury. Upon a unanimous finding, a judge would order the individual either confined to a mental health facility or subjected to intensive supervision upon his or her release from prison.
“This legislation is a critical public safety initiative helping to keep the most dangerous sexual predators off our streets and place them in secure supervised environments away from our families,” Spitzer said.
Mandatory treatment programs during incarceration and after release are required by the law.
“Statistics show that nearly half of all violent sex offenders commit new crimes once they are released from prison, some are even more violent and depraved than before,” said Senator Serphin R. Maltese, a former prosecutor and Deputy Chief of the Homicide Bureau in Queens.
“This measure will save lives, protect our children and ensure that our communities are safe from sexual predators who roam our streets in search of their next innocent victim,” he said.
The law signed on Wednesday, March 14, creates a crime called “sexually motivated felony,” which provides for longer periods of post-prison supervision after an inmate’s release, and an Office of Sex Offender Management in the State Division of Criminal Justice Services. That office is charged with developing comprehensive policy and standards for the evaluation, treatment and management of sex offenders.
“This civil commitment agreement represents a great step forward in the fight to keep the people of New York State safe from dangerous predators,” said Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm A. Smith.