Remember the Inquisition where you could either deny your guilt and get burned at the stake, or confess and get burned at the stake? The idea was that since confessing saves you from eternal damnation, the Inquisition was simply a strict and intensive rehabilitation program, enforcing “acceptance of responsibility” for the offender’s own good. Full Article
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Can anyone link to another non-prison or probation program where polygraphs are used as part of treatment?
During the time I was in the SOTP here in Wisconsin we had to do a thorough inventory of our past sexual history. We were given specific instructions on how to do this without putting ourselves at legal risk, but many program participants were leery of completing the inventory for obvious reasons. The basics of the instructions were to use pseudonyms for victims, not to be specific as to time and place, and not to provide enough information to trigger mandatory reporting. I felt like we were being asked to walk a tight-rope, because if we gave too little information our inventory was rejected, and if we gave too much information it might be passed on to a prosecutor.
Some chose to not complete the inventory. They were eventually removed from the program. It was a difficult decision for me, but in the end I went forward with it. There was only one door out of confinement, and it was necessary to complete SOTP before walking through that door.
I was already locked up. Treatment completion was necessary to be released. If I didn’t complete SOTP there was a good chance of being held as a predator after my sentence. The upside of completing treatment was bigger than the potential for legal risk involved in doing the inventory needed to move forward.
I was one of the lucky few that successfully completed the 3-1/2 year long SOTP, got a transfer to a minimum security lockup working on a farm, and was granted early parole. For me it worked out.
I have to precede my remarks with a big sigh. Many innocent people are convicted of sex crimes. So, in the midst of my SATP program some twenty years ago my partner was terminally ill and about to die. Being able to visit was obviously important to both of us. I was required to memorize and recite the prosecutor’s summary, none of which was true. Failure to “take ownership” of the summary would mean maximum security and no visits and civil commitment. So basically I was required to lie. I am mad about it to this day. A better arrangement would be education but no coercion. To this very day I have flashbacks about the abusive facilitator.
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