77. The American experience is instructive in this context. In Specht v. Patterson, 386 U.S. 605 (1967), the petitioner was convicted of the crime of indecent liberties under a Colorado statute which provided for a maximum sentence of ten years, but he was sentenced instead under the Sex Offenders Act for an indeterminate term, the trial judge having satisfied himself that the offender, "if at large, [would constitute] a threat of bodily harm to members of the public, or is an habitual offender and mentally ill".
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