Legal experts have differing opinions on sexual predator law

2-7-2010 Wisconsin:

Opponents question fairness; proponents say society is safer

The impetus of Wisconsin's sexual predators law is a 36-year-old case.

Gerald Turner was convicted of sexually assaulting and killing 9-year-old Lisa French of Fond du Lac in 1973. Just as he was to be released, state lawmakers created a statute that allowed prosecutors to keep sex offenders off the streets indefinitely by proving that they were risks to re-offend if released.

Ironically, an attempt to apply the predator law to Turner failed.

But it has been successfully applied more than 400 times since 1994. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the law.

Steve Watters, director of Sand Ridge Treatment Center in Mauston, which opened in 2001, said society is safer because of the predator law.

"If we opened the gates tomorrow, there clearly would be a significant increase" in sexual crimes, he said.

That is not a feeling shared by everyone in the legal system.

Gene Bartman, the supervisor of the Appleton office of the State Public Defender, said the civil commitment process is tilted clearly in favor of prosecutors.

Expert opinions are at the heart of the law, which puts sex offenders at a decided disadvantage, he said.

"These cases are all about predicting future human behavior and determining if a person poses a risk," Bartman said. "The way it's structured, there's no incentive to be perfectly objective about the determination — the error is always going to be on the side of safety.

"Predicting what any of us will do in the future is problematic."

The Sand Ridge facility is operating near its capacity of 300, with the possibility of a 200-bed expansion in 2011. Some of the current Chapter 980 patients are being held at the Wisconsin Resource Center near Oshkosh.

Treatment is focused on getting sex offenders to the point where they no longer are a threat to society.

Some convicts refuse to get treatment. Some maintain their innocence. And others are so entrenched in sexually inappropriate behavior that changing their behavior through treatment is a long-term process.

Still, Watters thinks the team at Sand Ridge is providing excellent treatment options.

"We feel that what we're doing is as good as we can do in this field," he said. "If you compare us to our peer institutions, we have among the highest rate of participation — about 75 percent of individuals who are detained or committed.

That's a pretty high figure.

"It is not a short-term treatment program. We're addressing a lifelong pattern of behavior. We're trying to address fundamental things."

Watters said treatment evolved and improved over the years. He said there has been a recent emphasis on addressing underlying issues relating to sexual misconduct, along with working with offenders on changing thought patterns.

Offenders are closely monitored and held responsible for their actions.

"One of the advantages of this facility is we have 24-hour observation. A guy may go to a patients' group and say he has no hang-ups, and then cut out of a Sunday flier a picture of kids in underwear. That's what a comprehensive institution can address."

Watters said the polygraph, or lie detector, is being used more often in treatment.

The aim is to verify disclosures by defendants and statements about what they are fantasizing about.

"Disclosure is very important," he said. "We need to know what issues we are dealing with." ..Source.. Andy Thompson