There’s a big debate brewing between the state Senate and the House of Delegates over what to do with sexual predators after they’ve served their jail time: Should they remain confined, in a process called civil commitment, or should some of them be returned to the community under heavy supervision including satellite tracking?
The House wants a 300-bed facility; the Senate wants 100 beds. Cost is a major factor. According to Newport News Daily News reporter Hugh Lessig: “The two sides are roughly $40 million apart in construction and operating costs for a civil commitment facility – the Senate around $36 million and the House around $76 million.”
I would lean toward’s the House position on this one, which errs on the side of public safety. But I don’t see it as a black-and-white issue. Cost is unavoidably a consideration — that $40 million could be used many other ways to improve public safety. So is the fact that sexual predators, having paid for their crime, do have rights.
