NEW ORLEANS — A bill that would allow judges to order surgical castration of convicted sex offenders is closer to becoming law in Louisiana. Senate Bill 371 would allow judges to sentence child rapists to surgical castration.
According to Representative Delisha Boyd, it would pertain to rapists convicted of a sex offense where the victim is under the age of 13. She said, "I know the surgical castration seems excessive, I view the same for the five-year-old, for the 10-year-old, for the 12-year-old."
She went on to say, "If the offender refuses the procedure or chooses not to, he will most likely get a longer sentence. I would have liked to change that."
Representative Boyd says offenders under 17 will be excluded. She says, the bill also applies to women - if convicted and sentenced they could have their ovaries removed.
However, not everyone agrees with this bill. Bruce Reilly with Voice of the Experienced says there's already too much brutality in this state. He said, "There's not supposed to be any mutilation of people's bodies and that's what this does it mutilates people's bodies."
He went on to say, "Now we're going to add in cutting off somebody's testicles... Where do we draw the line on our punishments."
He said with the state having one of the highest wrongful conviction rates, he fears what could happen to those who are innocent of such a crime. "I believe there were 10 other people who may have been eligible for this punishment who have been exonerated."
Now chemical castration is already legal in Louisiana, Dr. Corey Herbert said, "Surgical castration is the removal of genital organs surgically, when you have chemical castration we use different types of injectables and medications and hormones... so that you will not have those urges."
Dr. Hebert says like with any surgery, castration can be dangerous, "There really is no easy surgery, surgery requires healing and puts you at risk of death, and infection and discomfort."
Representative Boyd says if passed, she hopes the idea of physical castration will deter sex crimes on children, she said, "I'm not foolish to believe that if this gets on the books, if the Governor signs it, all rapists are going to say I am not going to do it, but I do believe that just from the response from the bill it will be a deterrent."
Representative Boyd says the bill will now go to the Governor's desk. In the house 74 voted yes, 24 voted no. In the Senate, 29 voted yes, 9 voted no.
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