Article: Pedophiles? Lock 'em up, throw away the key

For his first sex offense exposing himself to two girls when he was stationed on an Army base in 1955 Leroy Hendricks' sentence was a $2.90 fine. Then, after an unrelenting three-decade career of pedophilia, he got 10 years for his last recorded offense, molesting two boys.

Problem is, the 10 years ended in 1994 and the state of Kansas did not want to let him loose. So it committed him to a psychiatric institution under the state's Sexually Violent Predator Act that allows it to involuntarily commit habitual sex offenders upon release from prison.

Last Tuesday the Supreme Court was asked to decide if the law is constitutional. How can it possibly be? This is a clear case of double ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!