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Article: Double jeopardy? Sex offenders.(a ruling that the Washington State practice of sending sex offenders to a treatment center after their release from jail constitutes two prison terms for the same crime)(American Survey)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- September 2, 1995
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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FOR five years, a small group of convicted rapists and other sexual offenders in Washington state faced unwelcome news when the time came for their release from jail. Instead of getting out, they were sent to spend several more years locked up in an annexe to the state penitentiary until deemed "cured" of their unlawful desires.
Now John Coughenour, a federal judge in Seattle, has ruled that the state's sexual-offender centre--a sterile-looking building ringed with barbed wire near the farming town of Monroe--is little more than a jail in disguise. Because of that, the state has violated constitutional provisions guaranteeing a fair trial and barring two prison terms ...