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States begin calling for the indefinite civil commitment of "sexual psychopaths."

1937

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Between 1937-1967, twenty-six states and Washington, D.C. pass legislation calling for the indefinite civil commitment of people who are identified as "sexual psychopaths."

These laws are based on a belief that people who commit serious sex crimes have no control over their sexual impulses and will repeat their crimes again and again regardless of punishment or other experiences. In other words, they are people who cannot change or be reformed and must be discarded and controlled.

In 1937 alone, there are 143 articles published about sex crimes in the New York Times. Most of these pieces used fear-mongering language, such as: "How safe is your daughter?"