Because of this case, the United States and many other countries changed involuntary commitment laws.

Society apparently needs a way of dealing with the potentially dangerous, and commitment laws are now the only mechanism.

The impetus to re-examine the commitment laws has two sources.

The commitment law has already survived several court challenges.

Elsewhere such a person might easily be committed to a hospital after release from prison, but California's commitment laws are strict.

But several states, including Massachusetts, already have such civil commitment laws.

"Outpatient commitment" laws were gradually expanded or introduced in some countries.

The best commitment laws in the world, however, won't help people if there aren't really excellent treatment and support programs to commit them to.

A few have been released by judges who found that the commitment law did not apply to them.