Judge: More Convicted Sex Criminals Illegally Detained By Pataki
http://www.wnbc.com/politics/6905701/detail.html
NEW YORK -- A Manhattan judge said Thursday that a second group
of convicted sex criminals -- 10 inmates being held illegally
in a mental hospital under Gov. George Pataki's orders -- should
have hearings on whether they should remain in custody.
State Supreme Court Justice Jacqueline Silbermann found that the
inmates were denied due process when they were taken to Kirby
Forensic Psychiatric Center, after their sentences had ended,
without being given mental health hearings.
The judge ordered Kirby officials to bring the detained sex offenders
to court for hearings on whether they need continued confinement.
The judge said hearings will begin within 20 days.
Last fall, Pataki ordered the sex convicts held after the end of
their prison sentences because he was frustrated by the state
Legislature's failure to enact a law to keep them from returning
to communities where they could repeat their crimes.
The state argued that since the inmates technically were civilians
when they were transferred to Kirby their commitments are civil and
therefore the rules for sending prisoners to psychiatric facilities
don't apply.
The judge disagreed, saying, "Upon consideration of this argument
for a second time, the court remains convinced that the petitioners
(inmates) were not 'free' in any true sense of the word at the time
of their commitment to Kirby."
Because the inmates were still in custody, the judge wrote,
they were entitled to the due process protections spelled out
in state law.
___________________________________________________
Luke: But I can help them! I feel the Force!
Obi-Wan: But you cannot control it.
This is a dangerous time for you,
when you will be tempted by the
Dark Side of the Force.
.
|
