Why Didn't Somebody Do Something? Part 2: Involuntary Civil Commitment
If a person can be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of a crime, then the criminal-justice system can(doesn’t mean it will) get that person off the streets, at least temporarily, but… What happens when such a person has served his/her sentence, yet we identify that person (hopefully correctly) as still dangerous?… Or, what if we identify a person (hopefully correctly) as dangerous, but that person has not been convicted of a crime? What can the mental-health “system” do? – i.e., what are the legal requirements for short-and long-term involuntary civil commitment?">If a person can be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of a crime, then the criminal-justice system can(doesn’t mean it will) get that person off the streets, at least temporarily, but… What happens when such a person has served his/her sentence, yet we identify that person (hopefully correctly) as still dangerous?… Or, what if we identify a person (hopefully correctly) as dangerous, but that person has not been convicted of a crime? What can the mental-health “system” do? – i.e., what are the legal requirements for short-and long-term involuntary civil commitment?
Dr. Brian Russell
1 - Voluntary