Senate bill prevents the release of hundreds of violent sex offenders and dangerous mentally ill people into Minnesota communities

Today the Minnesota Senate will vote on a bill to protect Minnesotans from the unsupervised release of hundreds of civilly committed Sexually Dangerous Persons (SDP), Sexual Psychopathic Personalities (SPP), and Mentally Ill and Dangerous (MI&D) individuals. The Department of Human Services called for urgent legislative action after a recent court decision essentially removed the middle step of provisional discharge, in which a dangerous person is granted limited freedoms but still lives in state housing and continues to be supervised.

In a memo dated April 13, the Department of Human services warned the following populations could petition for full discharge if nothing is done to immediately clarify state statute:

  • 21 Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) clients who are provisionally discharged or have orders for provision discharge.
  • About 120 MSOP clients in (or awaiting placement in) Community Preparations Services on the St. Peter Campus
  • 232 MI&D patients provisionally discharged from Minnesota Security Hospital
  • 70 MI&D patients in Forensic Transition Services on the St. Peter Campus

The bill’s author, Senator Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove), said, “The bill’s author, Senator Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove), said, “It’s simply unbelievable that Minnesotans’ safety has been put in jeopardy by the courts. Violent sex offenders and mentally ill people should not be released until we are absolutely sure they are no longer a danger to the community. In the past, the state has set a high bar for release of dangerous people. My bill will maintain that high standard to keep our communities safe.”

DHS Acting Commissioner Chuck Johnson added, “Recent court decisions have significantly lowered the standard for releasing civilly committed sex offenders and patients committed as mentally ill and dangerous into the community without supervision. We have to do more to protect the safety of Minnesotans. I thank the Senate for taking action to move this bill forward, to clarify the law, and to protect the public. These changes are urgently needed. We must work together to ensure their enactment this session.”