| (Washington, DC) -- Parents across the country can sleep a little better tonight, knowing that violent sexual predators will soon be subject to civil confinement.
Today, Rep. Wasserman Schultz introduced an amendment to the Children's Safety Act of 2005 (H.R. 3132) that provides for the civil confinement of violent sexual predators. Under this amendment, at the end of serving his/her sentence, a violent sexual predator would go before a panel of experts to determine their likelihood of recommitting a violent sex crime. If the panel finds the sex predator to be too dangerous to return to society, then he/she would be civilly confined, outside of a correctional facility, where treatment and rehabilitation efforts would continue, however, they would not return to society unless it is deemed that they are no longer a threat to society.
Rep. Wasserman Schultz's amendment was accepted and passed by the full U.S. House of Representatives. The bill now moves onto the U.S. Senate.
The Children's Safety Act of 2005 provides for civil confinement of violent sexual predators that are under the jurisdiction of the federal courts. However, most sexually violent criminals have violated state, rather than federal, laws. Rep. Wasserman Schultz's amendment expanded the scope of the legislation so that it incentivizes states ($10 million a year per state for four years starting in 2006) to implement civil confinement programs.
"As a mother of three young children, I believe this amendment will help many parents sleep better at night knowing that states will implement programs ensuring that violent sexual predators cannot get access to their precious children," said Rep. Wasserman Schultz.
Rep. Wasserman Schultz's amendment is not a new or radical idea. As of 2002, 16 states, including Florida, as well as the District of Columbia have some form of a civil confinement law.
State courts and the U.S. Supreme court have upheld civil confinement laws that recognize the need for continued confinement in a non-correctional setting. One example is when the U.S. Supreme Court found the 'Kansas Sexually Violent Predator Act,' which establishes civil confinement, to be constitutional (Kansas v. Hendricks, U.S. 1997).
"This amendment will allow states to protect communities and from a small, but extremely dangerous segment of society," said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. "When successful treatment is not possible, civil confinement will ensure that these violent sexual predators cannot destroy the innocence of another child or break the heart of one more parent by keeping them off our streets."
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