Sex offender 'civil commitment' goes before Supreme Court

Civil commitment, the controversial practice of holding pedophiles and rapists beyond their jail terms for treatment to reduce their likelihood of further sex offenses, was heard January 12 by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could affect Virginia's program, which shot to fame seven years ago after Paul Martin Andrews began telling his story. Andrews, snatched off a Portsmouth street as a 13-year-old and repeatedly abused during a week of captivity, became an outspoken proponent of civil commitment, something endorsed by then Governor Mark Warner and the General Assembly. Critics, including murderer-writer Jens Soering, blasted the program as double-jeopardy. (Andrews' attacker never got a chance to enter the program; he was slain in prison by a fellow inmate.)