DENVER (CBS4) – A bill dealing with sex crimes has exploded in controversy at the State Capitol. District attorneys say the bill would allow some of the state’s most violent sex offenders to be released from prison without any treatment.
The bill sponsor, Rep. Kerry Tipper, says hundreds of them aren’t getting treatment now because of a long waitlist even though a District Court ruled that sex offenders have a constitutional right to treatment in a reasonable time period. Tipper says she’s trying to address that.
The Colorado District Attorneys Council says returning sex offenders to the community before they receive treatment is not the answer.
The council says the bill would allow the parole board to release people convicted of violent sex crimes as long as they’re signed up for community-based treatment and are considered a manageable risk.
It would also prevent treatment providers from limiting an offenders contact with children without a court order and would create a new risk-based sex offender registry. A nine-person board would decide who should be on the registry. Police and prosecutors would no longer get a vote.
Tipper says her only goal is to make sure offenders get the treatment they need.
Kudos to this representative.
Funny how the DAs want to complain that this rep wants to break the cycle of requiring “treatment” without providing it and claim that can be addressed, but offer no suggestions to do that. They also complain about the prior child sex offenders that would benefit if the bill is passed (and how many of those are from the TCAP stings or forced CP possession, I wonder) – fear mongering at its finest.
I still take issue with the whole “treatment” aspect, in that I remain convinced that nearly all sex crime is the result of poor judgment than mental illness and that the court/state ordered “treatment” does absolutely nothing for the genuinely mentally ill. Nonetheless, I do applaud the lady’s effort. I’m not hopeful her bill will pass, but am hopeful that it will inspire other efforts to curb the indefinite detention of those convicted for sex crimes.
Wow, some rational thought out of a legislator. I particularly like that the prosecutors and LE are kept out of the argument. They shouldn’t be there anyway! LE’s job is done once the Law has been Enforced, thus the term. The prosecutor’s job is done once the prosecution is over, thus the term. Any involvement those entities have after that should not extend beyond those explicit duties. No law breaking? No LE, and therefore no prosecutor, involvement. The prosecutor doesn’t get to hold sway over every single person ever convicted, ad infinitum. The prosecutor has already had months and months to build the case and desired punishment; they do not deserve extra swings after the umpire (read: judge) has made the call.