A group of registered sex offenders in Minnesota is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule whether that state’s civil commitment program violates the U.S. Constitution.
In a petition filed Friday, attorneys representing the offenders allege that the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) infringes on their fundamental due process rights by operating a program without the basic safeguards of the criminal justice system — effectively turning the MSOP into a “life sentence.” Offenders, the petition argues, lack timely access to the courts and the opportunity for regular reviews to determine whether they still pose a danger to the public or deserve to be released.
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