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February 16, 2006
SEX OFFENDERS DISCUSSIONS CONTINUE, MAYBE: Meeting again on Monday and Wednesday here in Albany, the debate surrounding the post-incarceration civil confinement of sexual offenders continued between the two houses of the Legislature this week. Yesterday’s meeting started off on a decidedly different note than previous meetings when Co-Chair, Senator Dale Volker charged that the Assembly proposal, crafted from laws enacted in other states, is not a “real civil commitment” bill. He stated that the Senate would not continue to participate in the conference committee process unless the Assembly was willing to agree to a “real civil commitment” bill, such as the one contained in the Senate’s bill. In response, members of the Assembly Majority maintained that a continuation of these conference committee meetings were important and should not be abandoned. Yesterday marked the end of the time period agreed upon between the Assembly and Senate to hold these conference committee meetings – whether or not these meetings will be extended for an additional time period remains to be seen. At yesterday’s meeting, for the first time in all of the conference committee meetings, some substantive discussion about the provision of treatment to sex offenders, particularly for the thousands of offenders who would not qualify for civil confinement, took place. As sex offender treatment providers have articulated, civil confinement laws eat up valuable resources on a tiny population of offenders who are not likely to benefit from treatment. They maintain that such funding ($192 million in the Governor’s budget proposal for 2006-07) could be much better spent on treatment for a much larger population of sex offenders who would not qualify for civil confinement and would be much more likely to benefit from such treatment. While the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers does not take a position in support or opposition to civil confinement proposals, they do recommend that if a state chooses to enact a civil confinement law, it should be one part of a comprehensive continuum of responses to sexual offending behavior, of which the most effective at curbing sexual offense is treatment. The Assembly’s proposal does include some additional treatment components beyond the treatment that would be provided for civil confined offenders, including treatment for offenders while in prison. The Senate’s proposal does not include any such provisions. 3rd ANNUAL ADULT HOME RESIDENT ‘SPEAK OUT’: As in the previous two years, the Adult Home Resident ‘Speak Out’ was an empowering event held yesterday in Albany empowered adult home residents to speak out about the conditions in their homes and to call for the State to act to fix these problems. In addition to many residents who spoke, members of the Legislature came to show their support for the efforts of the New York State Coalition for Adult Home Reform (NYSCAHR), of which MHANYS is a part. Among those who spoke were former MHANYS mental health advocate, Bryan O’Malley, representing Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried, who sponsors adult home reform legislation (A.6764). Perhaps most exciting was the appearance of Assemblymember James Brennan, who announced his introduction of legislation (A.9959), which would provide adult home residents with a ‘Right to Air Conditioning.” In addition to the two issues mentioned above, adult home residents met with member of the Legislature to advocate for:
IN THE NEWS: Post-sentence
confinement not the way. Editorial AT ISSUE: Lengthening prison terms for sex offenders only unfair The state Assembly and Senate have passed separate bills which aim to find a means to deal with convicted sexual offenders after their jail terms are completed. Both are flawed, and a conference committee trying to craft compromise legislation needs to come up with a plan that guards the public safety but is fair to people who have paid their debt to society. The Senate bill proposes civil confinement, which would, essentially, require sex offenders to be confined and treated after their sentence is up. The Assembly's version would allow lifetime parole supervision for predators, rather than confinement. We believe civil confinement runs counter to a criminal justice system that is based on allowing those convicted of crimes to pay their debt to society and then have the opportunity to move on with their lives. Civil confinement would keep them locked up, and that's wrong. Civil confinement laws in other states have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Against this legal backdrop, there are several other issues to consider, the primary one being that recidivism rates not as high as one might believe. A study cited by the New York Times found that in Washington state, which opened the nation's first civil confinement facility 16 years ago, the recidivism rate for felony-level sex offenders was 2.7 percent. That was lower than the rate of repeat arrests for other felony-level crimes. Furthermore, the judicial system, as evidenced with cases involving capital punishment, is rife for opportunity for error. Yes, there may be rare cases where a convicted sex offender is ruled so dangerous that he or she must be locked away. But the laws proposed would do little to truly sift out who among the sex offenders might fall into this category. If the Legislature wants to get tough on sexual offenses, perhaps members should up the penalties for convictions. Applying potentially flawed standards after the fact could cause more harm.
The
Governor's Gulag. Editorial Surprise, surprise. For a second time in as many rulings, a state Supreme Court justice has denied Gov. George Pataki the right to play the role of judge, legislator and chief executive, finding that he improperly continued the confinement of sex offenders who had served their sentences. The ruling, a predictable rejection of paper-thin arguments from Albany, should compel the governor to redouble efforts to win passage of legally sound legislation targeting sex offenders and to quit his baseless end-run around due-process protections. Manhattan-based Justice Jacqueline Silbermann ruled that a second group of convicted sex offenders, 10 inmates being held in a mental hospital under Pataki's orders, should have hearings within 20 days on whether they should remain in state custody. Silbermann, who earlier ruled that a dozen inmates were being illegally detained after serving their sentences, said the 10 others had similarly been denied due process. They had been taken to Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center on Wards Island, after their sentences had ended, without being given mental-health hearings. Last fall, a frustrated Pataki ordered the convicts held after serving their sentences — and someone in his administration concocted the losing legal arguments to support the move — in an apparent reaction to the Legislature's slow movement on a long-touted civil-confinement law. Pending civil-confinement legislation, championed by former Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro and County Executive Andrew Spano, among others, would establish a due-process framework for allowing the further detention of sex convicts deemed a continuing threat. Those bound over beyond their sentences would receive mental-health treatment and be held until deemed no longer a threat. Unlike Pataki's confinement by fiat, the legislative proposals would provide multiple checks on the government's designation of a convict for extra detention, including holding what would effectively be jury trials on the question of whether a convict still posed a threat. By contrast, under Pataki's brand of due process, some convicts didn't find out they were being further detained until they were in a van being transported to the mental hospital. Moreover, Silbermann has said that physicians who examined the convicts (supposedly two in each case) were hardly independent. One offender, the justice wrote in a November opinion, alleged that a mental-health doctor who examined the convict admitted that she did not want to commit him but that a "directive had 'come down from Albany.' " That would make sense if Albany were a gulag, and we resided on the wrong side of the old Iron Curtain. Last check, neither is the case. To be certain, still-dangerous sex offenders deserve not a thimbleful of sympathy, but nothing, not even the public's contempt, empowers Pataki to bypass the Legislature and trammel constitutional protections. The Pataki shortcut ensures unfairness and the possibility that some will be unnecessarily locked up. A thoughtful judge has now said so, clearly and convincingly, twice. The legal truth needs to penetrate Albany's closed thinking. Clearly there are more productive uses of the governor's time and energy. Pataki and state lawmakers, especially in the slow-moving Assembly, should finally negotiate and pass (1) a civil-confinement law that works for New York, (2) legislation ensuring more counseling and treatment for incarcerated sex offenders — because they do get out eventually, and (3) legislation that lengthens sentences for the worst sex offenders, as experience warrants. That would give New Yorkers the added protection they deserve and end this continuing charade.
N.Y.
leaders weigh cost of 'safety.' By Rocco LaDuca Plan would spend $200M to confine sex offenders State leaders pushing to confine more than 650 violent sexual predators after they are released from prison say the almost $200 million expense is worthwhile because it protects the public, even though there are questions about the effectiveness of such treatment. Behavioral experts are debating the value of civil commitment in preventing sexual offenders from committing further crimes. But because very few sex offenders are ever released from these facilities, even as more and more are committed, they say they have not been able to determine if this form of inpatient treatment works. "There certainly is reason to believe that treatment will be effective for many of them, but no treatment is perfect," said Jill S. Levenson, a Florida social worker who is on the board of the national Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. "And if the expectation is that we are going to be able to treat every sex offender and have 100 percent success, that's probably not realistic." Nevertheless, as state Sen. Ray Meier, R-Western, helps hammer out a bill in the Legislature to allow sexual predators to be civilly committed — with nearly half of those offenders slated for facilities in Marcy — he said those concerns are not a strong argument against confinement. "The main goal is to protect the public from people who have committed these crimes and who we know with a great degree of certainty will be unable to control their actions," Meier said. "Some people will go into civil commitment and probably never come out, and if that system works properly, it indicates success and not failure. But it's also a success for those people who benefit from treatment and return to society." Meier said state lawmakers will define a violent sexual predator as someone who is unable to control behavior because of a mental abnormality and is therefore substantially likely to commit another sexual offense. As a result, they should continue to be confined after completing their prison sentence. Oneida County District Attorney Michael Arcuri acknowledged the rare release of sex offenders from civil commitment in other states indicates there is no successful method of treatment. Still, he said, this is "the best way that is available to us right now." "Although we no longer need to punish them, it is a way of segregating a potentially dangerous person from a vulnerable population," Arcuri said. "During that time, we absolutely should be trying to treat and rehabilitate that person." In general, treatment can be successful for some sex offenders, but not others, said Dr. Richard Hamill, president of the state Alliance of Sex Offender Service Providers. Hamill said most people do not realize sex offenders re-offend at a lower rate than most other criminals. For convicted sex offenders, 14 percent are re-convicted within five years, he said, though he admitted the rate may actually be as much as doubled because many victims do not report their abuse. Research also shows that if a sex offender receives treatment, their rate of re-offending is cut by 40 percent to 60 percent, Hamill said. That doesn't include people who are civilly committed, however. "We don't talk about curing sex offenders," he said. "We talk about teaching them to control their behavior and becoming abstinent from sexually abusive behaviors." About 10 percent of offenders are diagnosed with serious mental disorders that are not sexual in nature, such as depression and schizophrenia, Hamill said. In those cases, he said, the offenders must be taught to examine their beliefs and feelings to change their thoughts and behavior. "We help them understand the thoughts, the feelings, the stimuli and the behaviors that precede their offenses," Hamill said. "We do this so they will recognize the warning signs of their being at risk, and then we teach them and help them practice different strategies for managing those high-risk times." Nevertheless, he said civil commitment is an expensive treatment — state officials estimate spending $200,000 a year on each offender — and that money could be spent better elsewhere. For example, Hamill said, that money could be used to monitor and treat sex offenders for a lifetime on probation or parole. "A lot of treatment is going to be provided to individuals who are not likely to be released," he said. "It's a huge waste of money." Meier acknowledged treatment in a civil confinement center is always going to cost more than a prison setting. But there's also a very high cost attached to the physical and emotional damage sexual predators do to their victims and society as a whole, he said. "If we release these people, how do you tell a person who has been victimized by one of these people that we weren't willing to spend enough money to protect you?" Meier asked.
Leaders
negotiate sex offender bill. By Jennifer Smith ALBANY - Civil confinement might seem like a public safety no-brainer: Take sex offenders who are likely to re-offend and isolate them from the community after their release. While supported by victims' rights advocates and Gov. George Pataki, such measures have failed to pass in the Democrat-led Assembly, in part because of concerns about the civil rights of sex offenders who already have served their time. But this year the Assembly has introduced its own civil commitment bill to rival the one proposed by Senate Republicans. Both are part of a slew of sex offender-related legislation introduced against a backdrop of recent high-profile sex crimes. Significant differences between the bills remained after both sides met last week, but leaders said they were committed to hammering out a compromise and would meet again tomorrow. First introduced in Washington state in 1990, civil confinement of sex offenders is now legal in more than 16 states. The Supreme Court has upheld such laws so long as those detained are proven to have "serious difficulty in controlling their behavior" and have either a mental abnormality or personality disorder. As of March 2004, nearly 3,500 sex offenders nationwide had been held for evaluation or committed for treatment under these laws, at a total annual cost of at least $224 million, according to a survey released last year by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy. Of those held, only about 12 percent were released or discharged to less restrictive programs. The laws being considered in New York would apply to sex offenders now serving time, as well as to future offenders. New York State prisons house about 5,200 sex offenders, who upon release will be registered and assigned a risk level for recidivism. Both proposals lay out legal road maps toward jury trials to decide whether civil confinement is needed in an individual case. They also set up panels to evaluate the likelihood of recidivism, although the Senate's version gives the commissioner of correctional service power to appoint members, while the Assembly looks to mental health professionals. Senate Republicans have criticized the Assembly's bill as ineffective and overly protective of sex offenders' rights. "The biggest problem with the Assembly bill is it's designed not to put anybody in civil commitment ... " Sen. Dale Volker of Buffalo said earlier this month. But Democrats say their version offers a better balance between public safety and due process and is more comprehensive, with provisions for additional treatment while offenders are still in prison as well as for lifetime parole supervision. "We have to get used to the idea of lifetime parole supervision with teeth in it, because civil confinement is not a magic bullet," Assemb. Joseph Lentol (D-Brooklyn) said. Pataki's executive budget proposes spending $130 million to build a 500-bed secure facility for civil confinement on the site of a prison in Chenango County, and tens of millions to set up interim facilities and for operating expenses this year. Richard Hamill, an Albany-based clinical psychologist and president of the New York State Alliance of Sex Offender Service Providers, said he expects some sort of civil confinement law to pass this year. If it does, he would prefer a plan like the Assembly's to the one outlined by the Senate, whose plan he calls "huge, and incredibly costly," with treatment directed toward "less than 2 percent of the registered sex offenders in New York State" - those he said were least likely to benefit from treatment. But others criticize the Democrats' bill for not going far enough. Noting there is no option for a mistrial if a jury is unable to reach a unanimous decision, Laura Ahearn of Parents for Megan's Law said, it creates "insurmountable obstacles and gaping loopholes that sabotage the criteria and process for civilly confining even the most violent of sexual predators."
Conference
Hopes to Reach Agreement on Civil Confinement Bills. By Joseph
Gerace A joint committee conference met twice last week with hopes of reaching an agreement between two different bills (S.6325 and A.9282) regarding the civil confinement of sexual offenders. Last Monday the panel of senators and Assembly members began in high spirits attempting to agree on goals for the committee. 'We are prepared to do whatever it takes to reach consensus,' said the Senate chair of the joint conference committee Sen. Dale Volker, R,C,-Depew, during the first meeting. By Wednesday, when the group reconvened, the discussion of particular issues became more heated. In his opening statements on Wednesday the committee's Assembly chair, Joseph Lentol, D-Brooklyn, said: 'It is clear that the governor is intent on creating the biggest and most expensive civil confinement system in the nation.' Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubrey, D-Queens, who called civil confinement an issue of 'epic proportions' last Monday spoke about the need to address the issue of treatment, both in incarceration and in civil confinement, for sexual predators. 'If we simply want to process them at the end of the incarceration period and not look at what happens while they are incarcerated I think we've missed the boat to make society a safer place,' Aubrey said. 'We need to be, the society needs to be, assured that when [sexual offenders] return to society that they return as a productive and safe citizen not somebody who puts the rest of us in danger.' Sen. Thomas K. Duane, D,WF-Manhattan, said 'treatment for sex offenders in prison is a joke,' effectively supporting Aubrey's demand to find a way to improve mental health conditions in prison. Volker said it is important to reconcile issues with the mental health community and the Department Of Correctional Services, because there was an obvious crossover in civil confinement. He said there was never any suggestion that either the Assembly or Senate bill would place sex offenders in current Office of Mental Health facilities. 'I think there's a little bit of a problem here with the mental health people, and I'll tell you why,' said Volker, who has been involved with civil confinement legislation since 1994. 'They don't want these people. They have told me they don't look at these people as mentally ill, but sick. Is the best thing to do to let them out in society?' 'Let's take the time to get it right so that we can stop these horrific crimes from occurring,' said Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, D-Brooklyn. Sen. Nicholas Spano, R,C,I-Yonkers, said the priorities of the legislation should be to identify, prosecute to the extent of law and then remove sexual offenders from society and 'put [them] in a secure facility and provide [them] with treatment and rehabilitative care. We can't just say we're going to lock them up forever.' The committee hit a major speed bump when Sen. Raymond A Meier R,C-Western, a former defense attorney, cited what he said is a major problem with the Assembly bill. The portion of the bill under contention deals with language regarding who among current prisoners would be included in the law. Lentol eventually conceded that the language of the bill had been intended to make all currently incarcerated prisoners who had been accused of a number of sexually motivated crimes eligible for civil confinement. Members of the panel said they had a responsibility to address diverse priorities such as drafting a judicially sustainable law that would address the needs of the law enforcement community, mental health community and the public, as well as those who would be civilly confined. Another goal is to develop procedural and substantive safeguards for the law they eventually pass. The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for 4 p.m. today.
Marcy
Secure in Its Identity. By Allissa Kline Some Residents Agree Addition of More Sex Felons, Nearly 700 Jobs Won't Alter its Character, Course MARCY - When bar owner Richard Noti walks through his parking lot, he can't help but notice his neighbors. Noti, who owns the Marcy Bar & Grill, lives and works just yards from inmates and psychiatric patients housed at two of the town's three state security sites, the Mid-State Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison, and the Central New York Psychiatric Center, a maximum-security inpatient facility. "They don't bother me," said Noti, 48. "They're in prison, and that's where they're staying." That sentiment resonates among several town residents who say January's news that more than 300 violent sexual predators could be housed at Mid-State and the psychiatric center won't change the character of the town. Instead, they look forward to the potential wide-reaching impact of nearly 700 new jobs. Partnerships also could arise between the proposed sites and local institutions. Peter Spina, interim president of SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome, said he's interested in offering academic programs and training for the professionals who could work there. The potential economic impact outweighs and security risks or stigmas associated with sexual predators, Noti said. "It's just bringing in more jobs, so how could it hurt?" he said. Residents in Marcy for years have lived in a town unfolding with changes and the presence of institutionalized facilities. Two prisons and a psychiatric center co-exist with a giant retail distribution center, and housing developments rise amid pockets of aging homes. It's a town marked by a state college, a slew of major highways and saturated corridors and a population of 9,100 people that includes inmates and psychiatric patients. Soon it could be one of four areas in New York state set to offer separate treatment areas for violent sexual predators. A proposal included by Gov. George Pataki in his proposed state budget would support the civil confinement of sexual predators in secure facilities so they can receive long-term care and treatment after being released from prison. It's a controversial plan, but it won't damage the town's reputation, said Steven DiMeo, president of Mohawk Valley EDGE, Oneida County's principal economic development organization. "We've got prisons there now," DiMeo said. "It doesn't seem to have hurt the town at all. They had a psych center before the (SUNYIT) campus. They had a prison before the Wal-Mart (distribution center)." Surrounded by neighbors The three state secured sites, which also include the Marcy Correctional Facility, are bordered by miles of highway, forests, railroad tracks and open land. The properties are stark, massive and lined with razor fencing. Old River Road, a straight and flat road in the western part of town, separates the grounds of the Marcy Correctional Facility from the tree-lined entrance of Mid-State and the psychiatric center, a multi-floor brick building that looms far above the road. Neighbors include the Wal-Mart distribution center, Marcy Federal Credit Union, a church and a handful of residences. Tara Schultz, 23, moved three years ago to Chaminade Road, a mostly wooded road around the corner from the prisons and bordering the distribution center. Initially, she worried about security at all three sites, she said. "At first, I'm thinking, 'Oh jeez, what am I thinking? We have a young child,'" said Schultz, who has a 5-year-old son. "It took a good year to actually feel safe." Schultz, however, enjoys her quiet life and hasn't thought of moving away from the prisons or the psychiatric center. "They're not driving me out of my house," she said. What's next? A committee of state Senate and Assembly members are set to meet Monday to reconcile different versions of legislation each body passed in January. The 10-member panel must reach an agreement no later than Thursday. Spina, SUNYIT interim president, said he wants to connect to the facilities if the governor's plan is passed. "I hope to make a case that the college can help with academic programming or training for professionals and paraprofessionals that work there," Spina said. "We could provide nurses to work there, our tuition is reasonable and we'd love to find ways to partner." Spina admitted college recruitment could be affected under the governor's plans. "I'm concerned about that, but there is a public good, and we're a public institution," Spina said. "For me to opine negatively about something that obviously has been thought out by policymakers would be presumptuous." The Whitesboro Central School District, whose high school is east of the proposed sites, is prepared to re-evaluate its security if there is additional risk, Superintendent Arnold Kaye said. "We've had a facilities study in process for some time, and we have a preliminary report of a portion of it, and in that report is consideration for security measures that include surveillance equipment," Kaye said. "My plan is to bring that policy for (school) board approval on Feb. 28." Residential housing developer Sigmund Majka has lived in Marcy for 20 years and spent more than half that time building houses in the Walking Meadows development, just up the hill from both proposed sites. Majka said he doesn't anticipate property values dropping if the offenders move in. "I don't see property going on the downswing anywhere," Majka said. "(The facilities) have always been there and always under control, and I really can't see any problem with it. "I don't think it's in the back of everybody's mind that they're worried all the time about it," he said. What's important is the possibility of new jobs, said Anita Hoffman, who lives in Walking Meadows. "I really don't think anything's going to happen," said Hoffman, a mother of two young sons. "I'm just happy about the jobs it's bringing. I think that's the most important thing. I don't think they're just going to let them loose around the area." 'Mixed feelings' The governor's plan calls for relocating as many as 316 violent sex offenders to Marcy by 2009. If approved by the state Legislature, the program would support the civil confinement of sexual predators in secure facilities so they can receive long-term care and treatment after they are released from prison. Pataki also has proposed razing a minimum-security prison in Pharsalia, Chenango County, and building a facility to house another 500 prisoners, at a cost of $130 million. Facilities in Rochester and Ogdensburg also could get some of the state's worst violent sexual predators. Proposed local relocation sites would be secured rehabilitation facilities within the psychiatric center and a refurbished building at Mid-State. Security measures include razor-ribbon fencing at two heights - 8 feet and 16 feet - each equipped with an electronic sensor system, lights and 24-hour video surveillance, said Jill Daniels, spokeswoman for the state's Office of Mental Health. The offenders would create a need for about 695 new, permanent, civil service jobs, ranging from nurses and psychiatrists to security guards, Daniels has said. According to the state Civil Service Department's Web site, the salary range for clinical positions runs upward of $38,500 and in some cases above $100,000. Marcy town Councilman Brendon Candella, a lifelong resident, said he realizes the state will do as it pleases, which in turn could affect the town's future. "I kind of have mixed feelings about it," Candella said. "It's good as far as the economy goes, bringing all those jobs and helping the town grow ... but I think it will have an effect on the image of Marcy as a whole, as far as people wanting to relocate, as far as SUNYIT goes. The (prospective students) see that and the parents see that, and it doesn't look good." Oneida County Executive Joseph A. Griffo said he also is conflicted about the governor's proposal. "Any opportunity for economic benefit to be derived is important," Griffo said. "On the other hand, you don't want to be represented by all these state institutions. You need to be mindful of saturation of any type of function." If the proposal passes, Griffo said he wants additional public safety patrols and the benefit of knowing offenders, if released, cannot settle in the town in which they were confined. "I want assurances that this population will not be released here," he said. "I want to see the person stay out of their place of incarceration, if released."
Pharsalia
Project Raises Hope, Concern. By Dena Pauling It will take a lot of convincing, David Lindsey says, to make him believe that sex offenders can be rehabilitated. "They belong in prison, no doubt in my mind, for the rest of their lives," said Lindsey, a retired Binghamton Police sergeant whose 12-year-old daughter was raped and murdered in 1984. "They don't deserve any breaks." But because today's laws make it impossible for that to happen, Lindsey believes civil confinement - like the governor's 500-bed facility proposal in Pharsalia - is the way to go. If the facility is secure, it will help make the streets safe. Sex offenders will be out of the general population's reach, said Lindsey, now a Broome County legislator who's been an advocate of tougher restrictions for sex offenders since Cheri's death. Behavioral experts, however, are debating the success of civil confinement, largely because the data are unavailable. Few sex offenders are released from treatment facilities, making it difficult for experts to determine if it worked. Who knows for sure if sex offenders have repeated crimes after prison unless they're caught? "It's really a tough issue to deal with," Town of Pharsalia Supervisor Dennis O. Brown said. Brown has heard different viewpoints from both sides of the issue. Some professionals claim a percentage of sex offenders can make it back into the community again. Others say there is no way, he said. The chief debate in Pharsalia, Brown said, is whether the facility should be there in the first place. "The people opposed say under no circumstances would they want to live near a facility of that kind," Brown said. "For those in favor, it's economics. There will be many new jobs, and they see it as an economic boom for the area." Gov. George E. Pataki's plan is to demolish Camp Pharsalia, a 50-year-old minimum-security prison, and put a new facility in its place to house sexual predators, who have already served sentences, until they are no longer a threat. Cases will be reviewed annually by an expert examiner. The facility is expected to employ at least 1,000 with an annual payroll of $80 million. Brown said he and other local officials want to know more about security before deciding if they support the facility, which would house sex offenders in 2009 after they've been confined in existing psychiatric centers in New York City, Marcy, Rochester and Ogdensburg. It will cost $130 million to build the Pharsalia facility, $35 million to renovate the existing centers and $27 million to staff them next year. If the project is approved, Allam Afify, owner of Dixie 2000 hotel in Binghamton, could go out of business. His property houses about 20 to 25 sex offenders who have served prison terms. "If the governor takes all the sex offenders, I would be more than happy, at least the heat over me would be over," Afify said. "Everybody thinks I am a lover of sex offenders. I just want to make them regular people again." Afify said he could "fill the place with normal people," and would rather see the sex offenders locked up in a confinement facility like the one proposed in Pharsalia. Afify keeps a close eye on his tenants using security cameras. He also forbids alcohol and drugs, locks the doors at midnight and makes them sign in and out of the building. But Pharsalia would be able to do much more, he said. In his view, a sex offender should be given one second chance if they are regretful and want to be a good citizen. He's seen it happen, he said. "I talk to them all the time, believe me," Afify said. "Many are really set in their minds, and they don't do it again." But Afify has no tolerance for repeated offenders. He forbids them to enter Dixie, he said, and the state should make that its policy as well. "We should put them on a very high mountain and shoot them with 25 bullets each," he said. "If we do that, we will never have anybody commit any crime of a sex offender. It will be a lesson and example for others. We would have very good standards, like the old days." It's those who commit multiple offenses, Afify said, who shouldn't be given a second chance. To prevent that from happening, the state needs a tough sentence from the get-go. "Lifetime registration is great, but you want lifetime parole," Lindsey said. "Once you are off parole you are free to do whatever the heck you want to do. But if you are still on parole, they control you. It would be a lot more expensive, but money shouldn't matter for things like this." ABOUT
THE PLAN
Group
criticizes solitary confinement for mentally ill. Mental Health Alternatives to Solitary Confinement, a coalition of 65 organizations such as Community Access, Human Rights Watch and the Urban Justice Center, is urging the passage of a bill that would create special treatment facilities for prisoners with mental illness, reported the Star-Gazette (Jan 19). Michael Seereiter, with the Mental Health Association of New York State, said, “We believe that solitary confinement has been used primarily as a punitive measure… for oftentimes behaviors that are a function fo mental illness or substance abuse as well.” An estimated 11 percent of New York’s prison population has mental illness. Bob Corliss with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of New York said that inmates with mental illness spend about six times longer in solitary confinement than the prison population overall. The group has enlisted the voices of celebrities to help popularize their case, including Henry Louis Gates, Jr., actress Margot Kidder and author Maya Angelou. In this statement, Harvard psychiatry professor Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D., called the practice “archaic” and said, “Psychiatric management is more likely to lead to improved behavior than the use of harsh punishment.”
That's
depressing - Mental ills still lack insurance parity.
Editorial When it comes to health insurance coverage, as well as public attitudes, yet another authoritative study screams out for the need to treat mental illness the same as any other. Last week, a new report predicted that one in every eight people will suffer serious depression, but that at least one in three of those afflicted will neither be diagnosed nor receive treatment. This a national disaster. The enormous emotional toll on the victims and their families is only part of the story; the argument for mental health parity goes beyond merely doing something right for people in pain. The billions of dollars in lost wages for victims and lost productivity for their employers underscores the economic impact of failing to treat mental disorders as exactly what they are, illnesses. The reason for the disparity is rooted in fear and misunderstanding, both about the costs and the illnesses themselves. The potential savings from relatively inexpensive treatments and the fact that medications and other therapies can work - just like drugs that cure physical illnesses - argues that it's time for a sea change in insurance coverage. Federal and state governments should require insurers to treat all illnesses and their victims the same.
Advocates
Rally for ‘Timothy’s Law.’ By Kenny Porpora Laws requiring mental health insurance coverage are on the table in both houses of the New York State Legislature. Supporters of this cause gathered in Albany yesterday to rally for a law that would require health insurance companies to provide coverage for mental health, a condition that can be as debilitating as other physical illness. The law, entitled “Timothy’s Law,” is named for a young boy who committed suicide after his family was unable to get appropriate treatment for him. Timothy’s Law advocate Kim Spicciate says providing full mental health coverage in insurance plans will help people get the treatment they need. For Spicciatie, this is a very personal issue. Two years ago, her teenage stepson Chris, died from an alcohol overdose after suffering from mental illness and chemical dependency with insufficient therapy. “Had we had parity laws in place, maybe Chris would be here today,” Spicciatie said in a statement. “And that’s why I’m so involved with Timothy’s Law, because I don’t want to see this happen to anybody else’s family.” Although Timothy’s Law opponents say it would increase premiums, supporters insist similar laws in other states have been good for business, helping boost productivity and save money by treating mental health problems. The State Assembly has passed a version of Timothy’s Law for the past three years, but the State Senate is considering a more modest bill, with exemptions for smaller companies and many limitations on the types of conditions covered.
Hope
for pediatric mental health.
Editorial Area health officials can hardly be blamed for being surprised that the state has just committed $65 million to build a Downstate pediatric mental health center. After all, just a few months ago the state was resisting requests to add just a few more beds in Syracuse to avoid having children sent to hospitals hundreds of miles away from home and the family support system that can be vital to recovery. The state later agreed to add six pediatric beds at Hutchings Psychiatric Center. Still, the bright side is that Downstate's windfall could mean a change of heart in Albany toward pediatric mental health needs statewide. "It tells me the state is beginning to recognize this is a serious issue," said Dr. Thomas Welch, the head of pediatrics at SUNY Upstate Medical University, to reporter James T. Mulder. Let's hope so. The news could help win state approval for a 16-bed child and adolescent psychiatric unit that could open in Syracuse in 2009. In the meantime, state support is vital to meeting the challenges that face young patients and their families in Upstate communities. |
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