Murel v. Baltimore City Criminal Court

Mr. Justice Douglas,-

dissenting.

Patuxent Institution is a special prison used by the State of Maryland for the incarceration of “defective delinquents.” Individuals who have demonstrated “persistent aggravated anti-social or criminal behavior,” who have “a propensity toward criminal activity,” and who have “either such intellectual deficiency or emotional unbalance” as to present “an actual danger to society” may be confined at Patuxent. Md. Ann. Code, Art 31B, §5(1971). The initial determination that one is a defective delinquent is made judicially and, for those confined to Patuxent after…