State court ruling leads to release of sex offenders
New York has released 13 civilly committed sex offenders because of an October ruling from the state’s highest court.
Records obtained through the Freedom of Information Law show that 13 sex offenders “are no longer subject to civil management” because of the ruling from the state Court of Appeals.
In October, the Court of Appeals ruled that a sex offender, identified only as “Donald DD,” could not remain institutionalized based solely on a diagnosis of what is called “antisocial personality disorder,” or ASPD.
“The problem is that ASPD establishes only a general tendency toward criminality, and has no necessary relationship to a difficulty in controlling one's sexual behavior,” the court ruled.
While ASPD may have been at the root of Donald DD’s criminal behavior, the appellate judges determined there was insufficient proof that the disorder would predispose him to commit sexual offenses.
The Freedom of Information request was filed earlier this year and sought records through March, so more offenders may have petitioned the court for release since then.
There are more than 300 civilly confined sex offenders in New York.
Imprisoned sex offenders are evaluated before leaving prison to determine whether they suffer from a “mental abnormality” that predisposes them to commit sex crimes. Typically, each year no more than 3 percent to 7 percent of eligible sex offenders are determined to possibly suffer from this predisposition.
Those whose evaluation lead to such a determination then go through a judicial process to decide whether they should be civilly confined for treatment. They also can be routed into a stringent parole-like program.
The program can cost close to $175,000 annually for the treatment of each confined offender, and few are released each year. The growing costs have led to concerns about the program.
Officials with the state Office of Mental Health, which oversees the confinement program and provided the Freedom of Information data, say they cannot know whether the Court of Appeals ruling will lead to more releases.
“OMH cannot speculate on whether an individual will or will not petition to vacate an order of confinement,” OMH spokesman Benjamin Rosen said in an email.
The state declined to release the names of the 13 sex offenders released so far, citing state laws protecting the privacy of individuals receiving mental health treatment.
GCRAIG@DemocratandChronicle.com
More about ASPD
Antisocial personality disorder, or ASPD, is characterized by a general disregard or uncaring attitude of others.
“Antisocial personality disorder is a type of chronic mental condition in which a person's ways of thinking, perceiving situations and relating to others are dysfunctional — and destructive,” according to information from the Mayo Clinic. “People with antisocial personality disorder typically have no regard for right and wrong and often disregard the rights, wishes and feelings of others.”
Names not released
The state declined to release the names of the 13 sex offenders released so far, citing state laws protecting the privacy of individuals receiving mental health treatment.