Protesters honk for hunger strikers, call for end of Moose Lake sex offender program
https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/crime-and-courts/7107874-Protesters-honk-for-hunger-strikers-call-for-end-of-Moose-Lake-sex-offender-program
Loud honks were heard as protesters gathered outside of the Minnesota Sex Offender Program Moose Lake facility to support the residents in a hunger strike.
According to members of organizing groups Ocean and End MSOP, around 40 detainees inside the facility started a hunger strike on July 4 to call for an end to "an indefinite detention program they believe is an unconstitutional death sentence." The strikers have put out calls for an executive order from Governor Tim Walz or a sponsored bill to close the program.
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MSOP houses approximately 743 sex offenders under court-ordered civil commitment for treatment, with about 450 at Moose Lake and nearly 300 at a facility in St. Peter. The program has been controversial since its inception in 1994, with courts granting only 14 full discharges and 45 provisional discharges over that time.
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The protestors are also organizing a community conversation and rally at the St. Paul Capitol next Sunday, July 18 and more info can be found on the End MSOP Facebook page.