Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Law
Controlling Sexually Violent Predators: Continued Incarceration At What Cost?, Tamara Rice Lave
Controlling Sexually Violent Predators: Continued Incarceration At What Cost?, Tamara Rice Lave
Articles
Sexually violent predator (SVP) laws are inherently suspicious because they continue to incarcerate people not because of what they have done, but because of what they might do. I focus on three major criticisms of the laws. First, I use recent recidivism data to challenge the core motivation for the SVP laws-that sex offenders are monsters who cannot control themselves. Second, I situate the laws theoretically as examples of what Feeley and Simon call the "new penology." I argue that the SVP laws show the limited promise of the new penology—that we can use science to predict risk accurately--because the …