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Wednesday, April 28, 2004
The New York State Senate today passed legislation, sponsored by Senator Dale M. Volker (R-C, DePew), that provides for the civil commitment of sexually violent predators after they�ve completed their prison sentence to protect the public from criminals likely to commit repeated acts of sexual violence.
"Almost half the people who commit sexually violent offenses are returned to prison for a violation of parole or for committing a new crime," Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said. "We have to act to protect the public by enacting this bill. Sixteen other states have enacted civil commitment laws to protect the public from sexually violent predators and to provide treatment to this dangerous group of offenders. I hope the Assembly will join us in passing this bill so New York can be the seventeenth."
Senate action on the measure (S.5556) was discussed at a Capitol news conference by Senator Bruno and by Joseph Brucia of Bellmore (Nassau County). Earlier this year, Brucia�s 11 year old daughter Carlie was kidnapped, raped and murdered in Florida. This tragic crime was caught on tape by surveillance cameras and generated national attention. Convicted sex offender Joseph Smith has been charged with committing the crime.
"We�re letting sexual predators out of prison and we know they�re going to do it again," Brucia said. "What happened to my daughter should be enough provocation for anyone to take up the cause and fight for longer sentences and civil confinement."
"This legislation will allow for more control over those convicted of these horrible crimes and enable New York State to better protect everyone from these predators, especially our children," stated Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. "We must not allow violent criminals to repeat their offenses continually and demand that they be prohibited from rejoining society until they are no longer a danger to others."
"These horrible situations bring to the forefront the need to update and increase criminal sanctions for those who destroy families and prey on those who are some of the most vulnerable in our society, our children," Senator Volker said. "This legislation is not strictly a �lock 'em up and throw away the key� get tough bill, but rather an honest attempt to provide for the treatment and control of sexually violent predators at secure facilities in order to reduce their chances of re-offending."
"This bill would ensure that people who are clearly mentally unstable and determined by mental health experts to be a significant danger to society would be detained," said Senator Nancy Larraine Hoffmann (R, Syracuse), who is a co-sponsor of the legislation and helped initiate a sex offender treatment program in 1991. "The proposal is constitutional and there should be no delay in passing a law to keep the most dangerous sex offenders off the streets."
There are well-respected experts in the field of sexual and mental disorders, as well as volumes of sound scientific research, that prove that sex offenders have extremely high occurrences of re-offending once released. Currently there is no statutory authority to civilly commit sexually violent predators to secure facilities after they serve their criminal sentences in New York State. Under our existing laws, sexually violent predators are released into the community without the benefit of treatment designed to address their unique needs. No provision exists to protect the public from sexually violent predators. This is unacceptable.
The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the involuntary civil commitment of dangerous persons who are unable to control their behaviors and whose mental illnesses render them a grave risk to the public health and safety.
Sixteen other states and the District of Columbia have passed laws authorizing the civil commitment of sexually violent predators at the expiration of their criminal sentences: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Recidivism rates for persons who commit sexually violent offenses are extraordinarily high. According to a recent report from the New York State Department of Correctional Services, for the period from 1986 through 1995, approximately 49 percent of sex offenders who were released from New York prisons in 1986 were returned to prison for a violation of parole or for committing a new crime.
Some of these sexually violent predators have mental abnormalities that make them even more likely to continue committing acts of sexual violence. The existing programs in state correctional facilities are insufficient to address this problem. As a result, these predators are eventually released into the community without the benefit of treatment or care designed to address their unique treatment needs. The Senate bill provides for such treatment at secure facilities and simultaneously extends greater protection to the public by establishing procedures to civilly commit persons who have committed acts of sexual violence and are likely to commit more sex crimes.
The bill was sent to the Assembly.
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