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| Inmates Warned On Sex Therapy |
| By Boston Globe |
| Published: 07/30/2002 |
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Convicted sex offenders in Massachusetts are being advised by their lawyers not to seek treatment while in prison for fear they might reveal things in therapy that could keep them locked up for life, according to attorneys and prosecutors who handle such cases. Since 1999, when legislators passed a new law designed to keep the state's most dangerous sexual predators behind bars, some defense lawyers have been warning sex offenders not to take part in therapy while in prison because treatment records can be used by prosecutors when they ask that a convicted sex offender be deemed ''sexually dangerous.'' If a judge or jury agrees, the offender can be kept indefinitely in a medium-security treatment center, long after he has completed his original criminal sentence. ''I actually give the advice, `Shut up,' to my clients,'' said Boston lawyer John Swomley, who represents sex offenders whom prosecutors want ''civilly committed'' to a treatment center. The predicament raises questions about whether a law aimed at keeping dangerous sex offenders in prison has instead kept them from treatment that some observers believe could prevent future attacks. But prosecutors say the information gleaned from therapy reports is critical in assessing whether a sex offender would pose a threat if released. In the wake of an arrest last week of a convicted sex offender who killed a woman in a rest stop bathroom, a handful of lawmakers proposed changes that would significantly broaden prosecutors' authority to seek civil commitments. Under the plan, prosecutors could petition judges to keep behind bars inmates who are in prison on a conviction that is not sex-related if they have a history of sex offenses. The proposed legislation would greatly expand the list of offenses that automatically trigger a civil commitment review by district attorneys. |
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