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| High Court Reviews Sex Offenders' Rehabilitation Rights |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 11/30/2001 |
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Supreme Court justices considered this prison scene: jailers going cell-to-cell with notepads asking inmates to confess past crimes or forfeit their prison privileges. Kansas does that to sex offenders in rehabilitation, an inmate lawyer argued Wednesday. As part of therapy, rapists and other offenders must list all their past sex crimes, information that can be used for fresh prosecutions. Those who refuse go into maximum security. 'No TV? No recreation? No softball?' Justice Anthony Kennedy asked. 'Isn't there a danger of inducing innocent people to confess?' An appeals court ruled the practice unconstitutional. The Supreme Court may use the case to determine how far the government can go to rehabilitate inmates without violating constitutional rights. Kansas argues it is protecting the public because sex offenders have a high likelihood of repeating their crimes. The Bush administration and other states also want justices to use the case to extend prison authority. No one has been prosecuted with information divulged to counselors, justices were told. But Kansas, unlike some other states, does not give prisoners immunity for information they share. The case turns on inmate Robert Lile's Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Lile has been in prison since 1983 when he was convicted of raping a young woman. He claims the sex was consensual. When he was ordered to begin the program, Lile was told to sign paperwork admitting guilt in the crimes he was convicted of and to fill out a form that listed his sexual history, including names of any other victims. When Lile refused, his security classification was changed, which means fewer visitors, no personal television, limited work and recreation opportunities and restrictions on what he can keep in his cell. The justices seemed conflicted over how significant the privileges were. |
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