Originally published January 21, 2012 at 6:00 PM | Page modified January 21, 2012 at 7:43 PM
About the 'Price of Protection' project
Reporter Christine Willmsen analyzed thousands of pages of documents for her special report on Washington's civil-commitment program for sexual predators.
Part One: Expert Costs
State wastes millions on sex-predator legal bills
Sex offenders' legal costs were kept secret from public
Timeline: Evolution of Washington's troubled civil-commitment program
Graphic: How a sex offender gets committed to McNeil Island
Expert costs: source documents
Part Two: Predator Island
Waiting on predator island: Chronic delays drive up cost
Sex offenders could get trials annually, driving up the legal bills
U.S. map: Where sex predators are detained
Predator island: source documents
Part Three: Worst Case
Swayed by a psychologist, jury frees 'monster' who attacks again
Part Four: Challenges
Tiny office says it can save state money on sex-offender defense
For her special report on civil commitment, Price of Protection, reporter Christine Willmsen obtained thousands of pages of financial statements and billing invoices from the Department of Social and Health Services and used them to build databases to conduct analysis. The Times focused its reporting primarily on defense costs, which accounted for most of the spending and had the most problems.
Willmsen also reviewed depositions, court testimony, psychological evaluations, police reports and sexually violent predator cases across the country. She conducted several dozen interviews and filed more than a dozen requests for public records. She obtained records from many agencies, including DSHS, the Special Commitment Center, the State Attorney General's Office, the King County Prosecutor's Office and several state licensing agencies.
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