Minnesota's Indefinite Detention of Sex Offenders Is Ineffective As Well As Unjust

Twenty states authorize civil commitment of sex offenders who have completed their criminal sentences but are deemed too dangerous for release. Minnesota, which deploys that option against a larger share of its population than any other state, spends $100 million a year to detain about 750 individuals who are deemed "likely" to commit sex offenses. Although those detainees are notionally eligible for release when they no longer pose a threat, that rarely happens: As of last September, just 21 of 946 people committed to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) had been...