Here's Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services Secretary Robert Siedlecki Jr. with one of the least comforting quotes you'll ever read: "This population continues to grow. SRS has an obligation to the people of Kansas to keep these individuals separated from society at large, and to house them in buildings that are both safe and secure."
Double gulp.
So how many people are locked up in Larned State Hospital? Right now, 214. But about 18 new residents move in to Larned every year.
Here's how the LJW describes Kansas' sexual-predator treatment program:
Enacted in 1994, the program has been controversial because it indefinitely holds convicted sex offenders past their prison sentences if they have been civilly committed under the law because they have been deemed a continuing threat to the community.
SRS officials want $2 million to remodel Larned, so there'll be space for 34 more sexual predators. They also want $200,000 to remodel Parsons State Hospital to house eight sex offenders "who are transitioning for possible release."
Because this is Kansas, I expect they'll get it. But $2 million buys them only about two years at Larned, unless the state is finally releasing some of the sexual predators being held indefinitely.
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Re: “Kansas is almost full up on sex offenders”
Before reading this response I want to encourage you to not trust everything I share with you, this is from my personal perspective and I encourage you to use problem solving skills taught to us when we were in school… do your own research and come to your own conclusion after gaining information from both perspectives. Stop allowing our government tell you what they want you to know because you may not have the time or energy to do your own research.
Also, this is a long response but I feel would be worth your time to gain an understanding of this subject, you will probably be shocked and horrified as others I have shared my experiences with.
I want to let you know that one of the reasons we have so many sex offenders in the state of Kansas is entrapment. Our criminal justice system wants to create this illusion of a safer Kansas. To accomplish this task they are focused on the "flavor of the month" (or decade in this case) which is the sex offender. Sex offenders in the state of Kansas range from a person urinating in public, a person whose swim trunks might have come off when getting out of the pool, all the way across to the most horrific offense of touching another person/child and performing sexual acts on them. Regardless of type of sex offense, all are required to follow registration requirements and not all sex offenders are pedophiles or predators. The sex offender label is made to cover a broad spectrum of offenses in Kansas.
The truth is... the investigators we trust to protect us and our children are in fact not doing this job honestly and with integrity. They are going into ADULT chat rooms that you have to agree you are 18+ to enter and they choose sexually charged chat rooms to find the next sex offender. Yes, you read correctly, ADULT chat rooms... not places we typically find our children. Adult chat rooms are typical places adults will go to role-play, and often this tends to be role- playing to accommodate a sexual fetish that is socially unacceptable to act on in the "real world." And the reality is that sometimes these adults will choose to meet each other in real life. If I remember correctly my husband was only one of approximately 280 men convicted of internet solicitation of a minor during this sting operation that occurred in 2007. Also my husband was convicted of “attempted solicitation of a minor.” This was not and is not the only sting operation that has happened to convict numerous people.
The chat rooms which require one to agree they are of the minimum age requirement are set up to confirm the age of the user by comparing it to the age specified on the creation of the account to use the chat rooms (i.e. Yahoo chat). So we have adults looking to meet other adults and the expectation is that if you have to be 18+ to enter then other users of the same chat are also 18+. However this is not a defense... neither is the fact that you can't verify location, age or gender of an individual on the internet by normal means. Just as an FYI following my husband’s arrest and my insistence that he seek medical support, my husband was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, ptsd, and hypo-thyroidism. We were informed so "eloquently" put by a judge with no mental health education or training "he still knew the difference between right and wrong."
I accuse them of entrapment because they are going into a sexually charged chat room for adults only and the investigators will role-play as being younger than they are and tend to do a shitty job of pretending to be a young teen for one or they just play a very ignorant teen (most teens I know are pretty smart and literate not to mention know more about internet lingo), and for two they use the same techniques that pedophiles use to lure in their victims. Here is a piece published in the Journal of Behavioral Profiling, titled: PROFILING ONLINE SEX OFFENDERS, CYBER-PREDATORS, AND PEDOPHILES which you can find on www.netaddiction.com. And if you are curious, I did read the entire conversation selected by the prosecution as evidence. I say selected because the prosecution denied having more of the conversation or that it existed, which it had to because there was no other way my husband got an address or phone number to drive and meet this adult, this portion of the conversation is missing. If you read the journal article, my husband and probably several others involved in this sting clearly fits the description of an internet addict, none of the other titles. I am aware that there are those who do need to be in prison and are a danger to our children. I am in no way condoning that touching a child for any sexual reason is acceptable. Those who commit this disgusting act need serious help and they should be punished.
I have been married to my husband for over 20 years. I have accepted my part in his reaching out to have an affair with another consensual adult and we have worked through this and moved on. My husband is a VFW with an honorable discharge from the US Air Force. He's has a Master's degree and has always lived by the rule that you work hard to provide for your family and always work to improve yourself. My husband had no criminal record prior to this incident and supposedly in the state of Kansas our courts take into account past history and accomplishments... this was not the case in my husband’s sentencing as the other 200+ offenders received similar pleas and sentences for that period of time. My husband accepted a plea because one; he just wanted to do his time and get it over with so we could move on with our life and not drag out this drama and two; also was told that he would probably have to serve more time due to innocent pictures I had of my children on our computer (you know those cute ones u take of your child in a bubble bath or running around the yard buck ass naked to keep from being clothed). The "experts" couldn't confirm or deny that our photos were of child pornography or not... but that they would be construed as such and he could face atleast 5-10 years in prison if he didn't take the plea.
My husband served 27 months in Lansing and is now in "aftercare," yet another joke. I have worked in the mental health field for over 8 years and I have a BS in psychology. I help give hope to others who struggle with symptoms of their mental illness and their reality by teaching them reality checking skills to decrease distortions they may have developed over time due to bad/negative experiences. I teach people that people aren't bad, we just tend to make bad choices. The "aftercare" teaches parolees that they are dirt, not worth believing in, and shouldn't believe in themselves either. They are taught that although this may be the only offense they committed that they have a disease that is incurable and have had it their whole life (not so realistic?). For your own information look up “Automatic Negative Thoughts” online and see for yourself if this information we are told tends to fall into this topic of cognitive behavioral therapy (which KDOC swears by and supposedly uses). Any trauma's or needs not being met during time of committing the crime are just excuses and they need to accept that they will always be offenders. It is encouraged they share every problem in therapy, but their therapy then distorts the information enough to warrant continued therapy and restrictions... An example would be (and has indeed happened) a gentleman on parole as a sex offender has gotten a speeding ticket when trying to get to work on time, well the therapist tells them that the real reason they got a ticket was due to them having a lack of respect for authority and obviously needs more frequent therapy due to his obvious disregard for rules as well as suggesting refusal for treatment. Seriously??? Talk about a spin and a huge distortion, how about the dude doesn't want to go back to prison and if he gets fired from his job, is then in violation of his parole conditions...I'm betting that he simply was trying to keep his job, and follow the rules set by parole and not get into more trouble.
My family has been so traumatized by this system and we don't trust these individuals now. I was informed 5 days before my husband’s release that he would not be allowed to come home and live with his children and myself. I was told by his parole officer that it would be a short term condition and that people with this particular charge aren't really a threat to the children in the home since he chose to go outside of his home to “offend.” I tried to advocate for my family’s needs and that supporting 2 households on 28k a year income with no assistance (we didn't qualify financially) was going to be an even further devastating financial hardship. I was upset, yes... what loving, supportive, in-tact family member wouldn't be? Well, I was told that I was distorting and that no matter what policy I brought up when doing research online about parole, it was incorrect. I can honestly say this is the only time any of these individuals have been honest with us. It states in one of the KDOC policies on re-entry that there is a lot of support and resources for families with an inmate re-entering the community (in Johnson County) and very clearly that is not the case. Because I tried to advocate, we (me and my kids as well as my husband) were made to suffer more. My children and I were homeless for the first time in our lives and we have no family and few friends in the area as we had just moved to Kansas in 2007. Due to parole conditions that my husband have an address to parole too, I had to scrape together what money we had to find him a place to live because we chose to be supportive of him. I couldn’t renew my lease at our apartment because “since 911 there are more restrictions placed against felons living in apartment communities.” Obviously I needed to find a home that my husband would be legally able to live in with us. The parole office was of no assistance or support and in fact has continued to discourage any involvement or support by our family. Apparently if you choose to remain with your “criminal” loved one, you are just as much a piece of shit as the one who committed the crime and we have been consistently and repeatedly treated in this manner. One of the "therapists" we met with to try again and advocate, told me straight up that if I didn't watch what I said and who I said it too that our situation would worsen and that despite homelessness “I was doing it.” The therapist told us that what caused our homelessness was my inability to provide enough income to support 2 households and my husband being a criminal (not because of aftercare staff that are clearly ignorant and closed minded and try to discriminate against people by use of intimidation. My husband was made to continue living in a separate household for 6 months until he faced eviction because we had gotten so far in the hole financially I couldn’t pay his rent as well as mine (a total of $1100/mo. not including utilities, food, parole/registration/therapy fees and excessive gas use for having only one vehicle for our family to use).
My children are lucky that they have a parent with mental health background/experience, I feel it's because of this that we have radically accepted our situation despite the fact that we know this is unethical and clearly an intent to cause harm (a violation of the code of ethics for the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board) and the offense is greater when it comes from a professional liscensed through the KBSRB. However with the frequent reminders that this part of our life is mostly temporary our family is able to maintain some form of “normal” functioning. The part that isn't temporary is their dad having to label himself a criminal and a sex offender for the rest of his life. My children are very close to their father and always have been, and as teenagers are old enough to understand the situation and still they believe in their dad and love him to no end. I have asked them point blank, as I prefer directness, do you feel that you are in any danger from your father and the answer is a resounding “NO!” Our children have had a few emotional setbacks since my husband’s re-entry, but with the support of our entire family they are adjusting well.
My husband has done everything possible to move forward, didn’t lose any good time and was reported by an employer during his incarceration that he was a model inmate. Despite my husband’s lengths to improve his life and accept his situation, he is still being told that he is too high risk and needs to remain in therapy (he’s listed as a level 1 risk by the way). On the basic, real level he is a person who went through a very difficult time and had some symptoms he was unaware of but was trying to treat himself, he made a stupid choice but he has learned to communicate with me and our children and we just want to heal and move on with life. This man needed help and when he needed it, he got judged to an extreme measure and thrown in prison. The Kansas corrections work hard to counter any measures of moving forward. KDOC and our courts will continue to distort any facts to benefit them and their judgments to ensure Kansans don’t question or challenge these extreme measures. It’s up to us as Kansans to verbalize the need for real accountability and well a reality check. In the view and practices of KDOC they are not in the wrong and anyone who disagrees is a threat to authority and should be quickly “put in their place.”
Sadly the real awakening was the day I worked on reality checking with our situation and it occurred to me that we couldn’t possibly be the only family to experience this abuse and neglect. That was the day I decided that I will not keep quiet, I’ll be damned if another family has to experience this. The same day, I did more research online and found that we definitely aren’t the only family in this state let alone our country to experience this nightmare.
I don't know about anyone else but I'm very disappointed in the state of Kansas and our criminal justice system. I encouraged my husband to trust his parole officer and our criminal justice system. I used to be a full blown supporter of our system and believed that inmates were being rehabilitated, what a huge wake up call. I also believe firmly in EVERY human having basic rights… being treated with dignity and respect, the opportunity to file complaints/grievances without fear of reprisal, and not being intimidated or discriminated against for any reason. Regardless of my education level I always treat people with the utmost in dignity and respect as I expect to be treated similarly.
I will say that I do not regret this experience because it has opened my eyes and made me less judgmental when I have not walked the same path of others, so I have gained more empathy for others. I also know now that our criminal justice system is indeed corrupt and there is no accountability as KDOC will always have enough warning to make ensure there is no evidence found of neglect or abuse. They do not rehabilitate anyone, I have even been told by the parole officer that rehabilitation is not the mission of Kansas corrections but it is to make a it a “Safer Kansas.”
As an example of our courts and criminal justice system’s distortions my husband and I first met with his court appointed attorney in 2007 and were both told that yes the sentencing for this "crime" was a bit harsh and that individuals who actually committed a hands on crime (i.e. molesting a child in a park) would typically get off with probation for a first offense. (Keep in mind this was in 2007, so it may be changed now) So let me ask this of my general public; is this really a safer Kansas???
There is definitely more to this story of neglect and abuse that we have unfortunately experienced by our system but I will refrain from making this response any longer. In closing we are experiencing what feels like past events and literature from our past such as the Salem Witch Trials for example. Apparently nothing is going to change without others to help increase the volume of my voice and/or a very influential person being accused/convicted of this same crime. Until then, more lives will be traumatized and more families will suffer. It appears to me the real crime is allowing this to continue.
Don’t allow our criminal justice system continue to bully our citizens, please…
This was created by Sedgwick county D.A. Nola Foulston's pursuit of incarceration beyond the terms to which oiffenders have been sentenced.
The problem is that a sentence is no longer what the law says it is. An offenders sentence can be extended indefinitely.
If a facility evaluation determines that an offender is not suitable for release, he can be kept interminably. The criteria for establishing dangerousness are very subjective, so an offender who does not go along with the program may never be released, but a con man who does comply may be released since no one is pissed at him.
It really is an erosion of civil liberties. If they can jerk around sex offenders this way, who's going to be next?
Also, the for-profit prison industry, specifically GEO Group, pushed passage of Jessica's Law in Kansas as a way to get the ban on new private prisons repealed, so they could build anywhere they wanted.
The measure was extremely problematic, making the possibility of plea bargains evaporate due to the long mandatory sentences the legislation codified. So that raised the specter of young victims being subject to withering cross examinations and extended trials in defense efforts to raise reasonable doubt as to the crime.
It meant that relatively minor offenders would be treated much like the worst rapists, costing the taxpayer upwards of $25,000 a year in today's dollars for potential life sentences. The cost of incarceration goes up substantially as prisoners become elderly and more prone to need medical treatment and pharmaceuticals.
The Koch brothers, who claim they're libertarians, have pushed this process that at this point has 2.5 million Americans incarcerated on various charges, mostly drug-related.
I always thought that this behavior of keeping people beyond there sentence was something that Russia did. I also thought that in the United States people have rights to a fair trial before their peers before they can be locked up. Seriously are the people in Kansas that stupid. Federal Judges are already thinking there is something wrong with this idea.
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