At least two "high-risk," violent sex offenders in Texas were ordered out of the state after being released from jail in 2004. The states the offenders were respectively ordered to were not given notice of their status, and the men found new victims.
The discovery, revealed in a Houston Chronicle investigation, shocked many and has many questioning the legality and constitutionality of the act.
Before being exiled both men were ordered into civil commitment, the process allowing the state to continue to supervise and treat them, which would have been improbable since they no longer resided in Texas.
Now that the men are back in prison in Utah and Virginia, the state has started to process to bring them back to Texas.
The Office of Violent Sex Offender Management, which is tasked with monitoring people under civil commitment, has been under intense scrutiny for months after several high-profile disclosures led to the resignations of the director and the board chair. Three separate investigations are ongoing.
Questions of the office's efficacy are widespread. The program was intended for the worst of the worst, but recently a nursing home-bound man was placed under their supervision along with two other disabled men. In addition the program has yet to release anyone from civil commitment in its 15 year life.
Guests:
- Mike Ward, Austin bureau chief for the Houston Chronicle
