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The Special Commitment Center in the state of Washington is a post-sentence housing and treatment facility, currently located at McNeil Island Corrections Center. It is controversial in that it allows the involuntary commitment of people who have served their judge-ordered sentence. It is unique in that allows for the forced commitment of people possessing a diagnosed DSM-IV: TR Axis 2 diagnosis, along with an opinion that the person is believed to pose a further risk to others. Prior, and traditional, mental health requirement for involuntary commitment traditionally requires that the person suffer from a diagnosed Axis I condition. In a nut shell it is ostensibly sexual offenders who can never be released back into the public.
On the other hand, in the mid 1980's, Washington State instituted so-called "S-100 Hearings" to allow the containment of supposedly dangerous prisoners. In fact, threats of S-100 Hearings were pervasive in the Washington State prison system throughout the '80's. These threats were frequently used for coercion of inmates engaged in uncooperative behaviour such as filing habeas corpus actions, or contesting unlawful actions of prison staff.
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