Law and the confinement of psychopaths

Civil commitment in the United States historically has followed a medical, targeting individuals with serious mental disorders and providing for their treatment in the least restrictive setting. In the last decade, however, commitment laws have appeared in some states permitting the hospitalization of personality-disordered criminal offenders at the end of a penal sentence. The American Psychiatric Association has fiercely opposed these laws. The U.S. Supreme Court has given its qualified approval, although legal challenges persist. These laws, together with British proposals to permit the civil commitment of dangerous personality-disordered individuals, should be resisted by all professional disciplines.