Texas civil commitment office: Since 2015 more than 700 detained, only 30 released

According to The Marshall Project, the Houston Chronicle reported on the state’s civil commitment office, which holds people convicted of sex crimes when they are deemed to have a “mental abnormality” that makes their behavior uncontrollable. The U.S. Supreme Court allowed this kind of commitment in a 1997 decision.

The population is old by design, since all of those admitted are coming off long prison sentences, and unlike prisoners serving criminal sentences, those in civil commitment are not eligible for compassionate release. According to the Chronicle, the program spent $7.2 million on medical care in 2025 after budgeting just $1.8 million. Of the more than 700 men (and one woman) who have been admitted since the program began in 2015, only 30 have ever been released.

“They say it’s rehabilitation,” Gene Anthes, an Austin attorney, told the Chronicle. “But that’s bull. It’s an opportunity to lock them up and throw away the key.”