Judge May Order Changes Friday in Minnesota Sex Offenders Case

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A federal judge is expected to order changes to Minnesota's restrictive program for sex offenders this week, a long-awaited step for more than 700 who alleged the facilities were more like prisons.

The state's civil confinement program, under fire for years, was declared unconstitutional this spring. Judge Donovan Frank didn't close it, instead giving the state time to fix it.

But lawmakers fearful of appearing soft on crime didn't make changes, and Frank has said he plans to order fixes by the end of October.

Among the 20 such state programs, Minnesota's has the highest per capita lockup rate, and just a handful of offenders have ever been provisionally released. While offenders in other states may re-enter society after completing treatment, no one has been fully discharged in Minnesota.