Alabama Wants Surgical Castration for Convicted Pedophiles

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – Steve Hurst, an elected State Representative and a lawmaker wants to introduce a new form of punishment for those found guilty of child molestation. According to the bill, which will soon be consulted by the judiciary committee, Alabama wants surgical castration for convicted pedophiles in addition to serving time in prison.

A lawmaker from Alabama has just forwarded a bill about a new method of punishing sexual offenders. Steve Hurst, the harsh State Representative, declared in a press conference that the only form of punishment which fits child molestation is castration.

According to the new bill sent to the judiciary committee, if the new law is passed, all sexual assailants over the age of 21 will be subjected to a mandatory surgical and chemical castration procedure in addition to being imprisoned.

Furthermore, the lawmaker added that the guilty party will have to support all the cost of the said process, which will be performed during his time in prison.

One would imagine that the lawmaker’s bill was received with mixed feeling. While most State Representatives believe that minor molestation is indeed a grave matter, they feel that body mutilation may not be the best way to prove a point.

In response to his critics, the Alabama lawmaker declared that a molested child is marked for life and that the punishment must, in the end, fit the crime.

Of course, before the law can be applied, it must pass the judiciary committee. After that, the bill will be presented to the Alabama House and Senate.

Statewide, only 7 US states allow the chemical castration procedure. However, the medical procedure is purely voluntary, meaning that if the sex offender can choose this alternative to incarceration.

The lawmaker’s proposal has stirred some controversy along the way, as well as positive responses. Over the years, several countries from around the world have debated on the morality of this sort of punishment.

Perhaps one of the most cited and controversial cases involving chemical castration is that of Alan Turing, the father of computer sciences. In 1952, a court of law from Great Britain declared Turing guilty as charged of engaging in homosexual acts, and was sentenced to spend time in prison. However, taking into account Turing’s war record, the court of law offered Turing the alternative of chemical castration.

After two years of suffering from painful side-effect, Turing committed suicide. It was not until 2009 that Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a formal public apology for Turing’s treatment.

Meanwhile, the bill is still on the judiciary committee’s table, awaiting ratification.

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