376
Breyer, J., dissenting
a dangerous person where the danger flowed from an " 'utter lack of power to control . . . sexual impulses' ") (quoting State ex rel. Pearson v. Probate Court of Ramsey Cty., 205 Minn. 545, 555, 287 N. W. 297, 302 (1939)); 1788 N. Y. Laws, ch. 31 (permitting confinement of those who are "furiously mad"); In re Oakes, 8 Law Rep. 122, 125 (Mass. 1845) (Shaw, C. J.); A. Deutsch, The Mentally Ill in America 419-420 (1949) (tracing history of commitment of furiously mad people in 18th and 19th centuries); Dershowitz, The Origins of Preventative Confinement in Anglo-American Law—Part II: The American Experience, 43 U. Cin. L. Rev. 781 (1974). Indeed, the notion of an "irresistible impulse" often has helped to shape criminal law's insanity defense and to inform the related recommendations of legal experts as they seek to translate the insights of mental health professionals into workable legal rules. See also American Law Institute, Model Penal Code § 4.01 (insanity defense, in part, rests on inability "to conform . . . conduct to the requirements of law"); A. Goldstein, The Insanity Defense 67-79 (1967) (describing "irresistible impulse" test).
Third, Hendricks' mental abnormality also makes him dangerous. Hendricks "has been convicted of . . . a sexually violent offense," and a jury found that he "suffers from a mental abnormality . . . which makes" him "likely to engage" in similar "acts of sexual violence" in the future. Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 59-29a02, 59-29a03 (1994). The evidence at trial favored the State. Dr. Befort, for example, explained why Hendricks was likely to commit further acts of sexual violence if released. See, e. g., App. 248-254. And Hendricks' own testimony about what happens when he gets "stressed out" confirmed Dr. Befort's diagnosis.
Because (1) many mental health professionals consider pedophilia a serious mental disorder; and (2) Hendricks suffers from a classic case of irresistible impulse, namely, he is so afflicted with pedophilia that he cannot "control the urge" to molest children; and (3) his pedophilia presents a serious
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