A View from the Hill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 1, 1999
CONTACT: Tom Nolan (617) 722-2230 e-mail: Thomas.Nolan@state.ma.us
IT'S TIME WE COMMIT TO CIVIL COMMITMENT
A twice convicted sex offender has been charged with raping a
boy at a caretaker's Northborough home. . . . My stomach turned as I read
the article detailing the abhorrent acts of David Kelley, the most recent
notorious pedophile to make news in the Commonwealth. Beyond the fact that
his victim was a defenseless four-year old boy, what I found particularly
disturbing was that Mr. Kelley, who twice plead guilty to charges of
statutory rape and indecent assault and battery on a child (in 1982 and
1986), was complying with the law that requires him to register with the
centralized sex offender registry and his local police department.
Marlborough police had disclosed his deviant status to the public since the
day he moved back to the community after his release from prison in 1992.
Northborough police, likewise, complied with sex offender notification
procedures when he recently moved into that town, a move that drew fierce
reactions from residents and school officials. Yet, registration and
notification aside, the bottom line is that upon his release back into
society, David Kelley, a dangerous sexual predator with a known history for
preying on children, was given the opportunity to destroy the tender
fragility of yet, another child's life.
While public notification of a sex offender's whereabouts is essential,
recent events underscore that it is not a panacea for sexual deviancy.
Some months ago in this column, I argued in support of more progressive
measures to curtail recidivism of sexual predators by cutting off the
ability to re-offend altogether. One of the most effective means of
protection that I cited then, and continue to advocate, is the civil
commitment of dangerous sex offenders for an indefinite period of time
following the completion of their prison sentence. Motivated by my desire
to rid our communities of these inexcusable deviants, I filed legislation
before the 1999 filing deadline last December, seeking to re-establish this
practice in the state of Massachusetts.
As House Chairman for the Committee on Public Safety, I am
particularly concerned with making sure that we not only punish these
egregious crimes, but that we prevent their reoccurrence. Currently, there
are stiff penalties in place for those who commit sex offenses, especially
those who victimize innocent children. In fact, the penalties for certain
crimes against minors are very steep, and in some cases, permit life
sentences. The real danger, as we have unfortunately seen, is with those
offenders who serve lesser sentences and re-enter communities with the
proclivity to re-offend.
With each new incident involving a repeat offender, it is becoming
apparent that sex offenders, whether they victimize children or adults,
must be treated differently than other types of criminals. Sex offenders
are a particularly heinous breed of criminals due to the extreme emotional
and psychological damage they inflict upon their victims. The risk these
offenders pose is exacerbated by the nearly complete inability for
rehabilitation. We must begin to realize that by releasing sex offenders
back into society with little more restriction than requiring them to
register with a central registry, we jeopardize the well-being of each and
every one of us. But the most vulnerable, those who are most susceptible
to physical attack, deception or the lure of false promises, are our
children who deserve this greater protection.
The concept of civil commitment is not a new one for Massachusetts.
the Nemansket Treatment Center currently houses offenders committed there
prior to the early 1990's who, after their release from prison, were still
considered sexually dangerous. Although not a prison, the Nemansket
facility serves the dual purpose of keeping sexual deviants out of
mainstream society while providing necessary treatment for those offenders.
Since the repeal of the operative sections of the civil commitment law in
1990, however, no sex offender released from prison has been confined to
Nemansket for further treatment.
While I expect objection from the ACLU, the practice of civil
commitment had been upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and
was recently found constitutional by United States Supreme Court. In its
1997 decision, the Supreme Court stressed the importance of public safety
in these cases over the personal privilege of offenders to roam free in the
outside world after release. To be sure, the state has a strong public
interest in making sure that dangerous sex offenders receive proper
treatment and therapy before re-entering their community.
The implementation of a civil commitment law allows the Commonwealth
to potentially keep sexually deviant persons like David Kelley, Brian Nagle
and David Routhier in a secure facility for the rest of their lives. In
essence, by re-opening the doors to Nemansket, we are also slamming-shut
the door into our communities for convicted sexual predators.
While the state grapples with how to address the Supreme Judicial
Court's concerns regarding the notification laws and the families of
victims struggle with moving on, we in the legislature must begin to
consider alternative approaches to curtail the occurrence of sex offenses.
In addition to civil commitment, I filed a bill to study the effectiveness
of medical treatment (i.e., chemical castration) to extinguish the
predatory sex drive these criminals harbor. California has implemented
this practice as a means to defuse the offender's abnormal tendencies.
Indeed, there is no single solution to such a complex problem. While
these contemptible, twisted acts of perversion should never occur, we will
admittedly never be able to anticipate who may perpetrate the next
atrocious crime. Yet, we can ensure that those who choose to victimize
others in this manner will not be given the opportunity ever again. A "two
strikes" policy touted by some sounds tough, but there should never be a
second strike. It is time that we, as a society, resolutely embrace severe
alternatives to combat the very personal catastrophic disease that abnormal
miscreants inject into the veins of our peaceful neighborhoods.