Castration proposed for sex offenders
Conrad Defiebre, Star Tribune
February 18, 2005 SEX0218



Serious sex offenders who prey on children in Minnesota should be subject to court-ordered castration -- surgical or chemical -- a group of Republican legislators proposed Thursday.

"At first glance that may seem to be a little overboard," said Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano, chief sponsor of a bill introduced in the House to promote what he called "asexual rehabilitation" for pedophiles. "But it would control the urges that they cannot control themselves."

Scientific research in Europe has shown that chemical castration with regular injections of antiandrogen drugs such as depo provera can reduce recidivism by child sex offenders to near zero, said Emmer, a lawyer and freshman legislator who has seven children in school.

Sex offender treatment professionals, however, downplayed the effectiveness of such an approach in most cases.

"It's of limited utility to a very limited population," said Patricia Orud, who oversees sex offender treatment in Minnesota prisons. "It has gained popularity with the public, but the professionals are careful to apply it only in the correct cases."

A 1991 Star Tribune Minnesota Poll found support among 56 percent of the public for surgical castration of repeat sex offenders and 51 percent backing for administering "drugs to make them impotent." The same poll showed 37 percent support for the death penalty for child sex abuse.

Emmer's proposal was greeted with caution at the State Capitol.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty "wants to gather more information, but he's willing to explore the idea," said his spokesman, Brian McClung.

Senate Crime Prevention and Public Safety Chairman Leo Foley, DFL-Coon Rapids, said he knew nothing about the proposal and expressed doubt whether he would have time to hear it in committee. So far, no Senate version of the bill has been introduced.

A California first

About 10 states, including Wisconsin and Iowa, have laws allowing castration of certain sex offenders, the first enacted in California in 1996.

Emmer gave no count of offenders who have been castrated nationwide or in any state. And he said he did not know how many "preferential pedophiles," child sex abusers not motivated by rage, anger or special circumstances, would fall under his bill in Minnesota.

Following conviction for sex abuse of a child under the age of 13, offenders would face an evidentiary hearing before a jury to determine whether aggravating factors exist to warrant castration. The factors would include prior sex crimes, repeated assaults on one victim, significant injury to the victim and crimes deemed "especially serious, atrocious or cruel."

If such factors were found, a judge could order either surgical or chemical castration. DNA proof of the offender's guilt and automatic review by the Minnesota Court of Appeals would have to precede the surgery.

"I understand the need to be protective of constitutional rights, even for this type of convicted criminal," Emmer said. "I feel we've drafted a bill that protects society while preserving civil liberties."

The bill also allows for castration of adult inmates who request it in writing. Orud said a handful of Minnesota sex offenders have volunteered for chemical castration, which is eventually reversible if treatments are discontinued.

But Orud and Gerald Kaplan, executive director of Alpha Human Services, the state's only licensed sex offender treatment center, said that common antidepressants such as Prozac are often just as effective as the antiandrogens in dulling deviant sexual urges.

Antidepressants also produce fewer side effects such as extreme weight gain, high blood pressure and heart problems, they said. And Kaplan said no castration drug is a cure-all for pedophiles.

"If they're interested in children, it's not going to make them interested in adults," he said. "It may slow them down, but it won't change the direction of their arousal patterns."



yikes!

anyone who molests children deserves much worse than this... add some additional forms of torture and it might be fair

i support this statement

Fair but unconstitutional.

It's funny. I watched The BL with captions on once and they try to mimmick the Jerry accent so they put "Or we'll cut off your chonson!!" Pure magic!

Chemical castration for repeat offenders is fine by me.

Only problem is they can still "touch kids" and do all sorts of stuff to them. Best idea is to ship them off to prison 'til they kick it or just make molesting kids a capital offense.

Doesn't chemical castration usually kill the offender's interest in that stuff?

I have no clue. Why take the chance?

Last I read anything on it, no. The act is very rarely in any way based in sexual desire...it is bourne on the shoulders of entirely different disfunctions.

Anyone here in favor of trying to treat the offender for what is obviously a mental deficieny? Or is everyone onboard for just summarily slicing off wangs left and right?

--PunkDavid

Gimme some sugar baby....

I heard that most are in the middle.

I know the location of the wang in relation to the rest of the body.

Where'd you get a version of Lebowski with subtitles? Mine don't got no such subtitles!?

See the cable version when Walter is hammering the crap out of the sports car with the crow-bar. Instead of saying "this is what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass", he says 'this is what happens when you meet a stranger in the alps" .

I say we put them through psychiatric treatment a'la ClockWork Orange.