IA: Iowa Supreme Court says State has ‘no duty’ to end what sex offenders call ‘silent mandatory minimum’

Source: desmoinesregister.com 12/7/21

Do prisoners have a right to be paroled? And if so, do they have a right to access programming required to be eligible for parole?

As a new decision from the Iowa Supreme Court shows, there’s no easy answer to either question. The court’s ruling, issued before Thanksgiving, denied an effort by seven Iowa prisoners to challenge what they described in court filings as a “Catch-22” that forces some inmates to wait far longer than others to complete their sentences.

The issue before the court involved Iowa’s treatment of convicted sex offenders. All seven plaintiffs are serving sentences for sex offenses. To be eligible for parole, they must complete sex offender treatment programming. But the state prison system has limited capacity to provide this treatment, and a lengthy waiting list, meaning convicted sex offenders likely won’t get access to the required programming until shortly before they’re due to be released anyway.

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The Constitution got run over by those sworn to protect and defend it against foreign and domestic threats. Not every sex offense needs treatment and if treatment is needed the last place is in prison with state run “Dr” and “therapists”.

Registrants shouldn’t be forced into treatment run by state “ Drs and therapists”. Not ever registrant has the same issues and shouldn’t be in a one size fits all treatment. What treatment does a person need who peed on a tree? I never knew that trees, bushes, and other vegetation had feelings or can be victims.