Civil Commitment for Sexually Violent Predators
Show #1504

Convicted of a crime, sentenced and jailed. You do your time, and you're released - right? Well, not necessarily, if the state decides that you're a sexually violent predator. New Jersey is one of just 20 states with civil commitment for some sex criminals. And though the U.S. Supreme Court has said it's legal, the jury's still out on whether it's sound public policy - or even effective.

On this edition of Due Process, Sandra King's mini-documentary takes us inside the Kearny detention center, introducing us to a "patient" who maxed out after 15 years in prison - and has been locked up in Kearny for the 7 years since.

Then, Raymond Brown takes the debate inside the studio where Seton Hall Law Professor John Kip Cornwell faces off against Criminal Defense Attorney Jack Furlong.