CDOC Says it Does not have Resources to Treat Sex Offenders as Law Requires

In a statement released late November, the Colorado Department of Corrections admitted they can't follow the law as directed by the state legislature.

The admission revolves around the controversial 1998 Lifetime Supervision Act, the Lifetime Act requires CDOC to provide mental health treatment to incarcerated sex offenders. Although not specifically stated, completion of all phases of treatment is widely acknowledged as a precondition for parole.

According to Anthony DeCesaro, an officer at the CDOC headquarters in Colorado Springs, "In this time of limited resources there are a limited number of treatment slots available. There is no method to determine the timeline for treatment, it is unknown; you may be required to seek treatment as a condition of parole. It is not mandatory that you receive treatment prior to your release on parole."

The controversial Lifetime Act has resulted in over a thousand inmates wait listed in CDC's treatment pipeline and incarcerated years after their intended release date. This is the first time that CDOC has admitted publicly that it simply can't meet the treatment mandate stipulated by the legislature in the Lifetime Act.

The revelation by DeCesaro highlights the difficulty faced by incarcerated sex offenders and advocacy groups that are pushing for a change in the Lifetime Act. According to a family member of an inmate incarcerated with an indeterminate sentence, "it is completely unfair, the law says treatment must be provided and shouldn't prolong incarceration, then CDOC says it can't afford to provide treatment: and then the parole board rarely paroles anyone - especially without treatment. It is the ultimate Catch-22 with hundreds of our family members caught in it and powerless to do anything about it."

  Critics of the Lifetime Act say the problem stems from how the justice system interprets the law. According to prominent defense attorney Chris Decker, "everyone is treated the same under the Act, whether you are charged with a victimless crime or multiple sexual assaults, you get the same treatment, and sadly, will probably be incarcerated about the same amount of time."

Reform advocates believe DeCesaro's statement will only help the class action lawsuit being prepared by attorney John Pineau.

The lawsuit claims CDOC is in violation of the law because it does not provide treatment as required by state statute.