Judges in Louisiana could be given the power to order surgical castration for sex offenders who prey on young children after the state legislature passed a first-in-the-nation law on Monday.
The law would allow judges to impliment the procedure for people convicted of sex crimes – including rape, molestation, and incest — against a child under 13 to undergo a surgical procedure on their genitals to block sex-drive hormones like testosterone.
It was given final approval by state lawmakers Monday, and now heads to the desk of Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who campgined on a law-and-order platform of tougher punishment for criminals.
“This is a consequence,” Republican state Sen. Valarie Hodges said during a committee hearing over the bill in April.
“It’s a step over and beyond just going to jail and getting out.”
Lawmakers noted the punishment would not only apply to men, but that convicted women would also be eligible for surgical castration.
Louisiana and numerous other states already have laws in place that allow for chemical castration, but none have passed laws allowing the much more invasive surgical procedure.
Chemical castration has been allowed in Louisiana since 2008, but state officials estimate only about one or two people have actually been forced to undergo the procedure.
About 2,224 people are currently incarcerated in Louisiana over sex crimes against children, but if the law passes it would only apply to people convicted of crimes that take place after Aug. 1, 2024.
If an offender “fails to appear or refuses to undergo” surgical castration after a judge orders the procedure, they could be hit with “failure to comply” charge and face an additional three to five years in prison, based on the bill’s language.
The legislation also stipulates that a medical expert must “determine whether that offender is an appropriate candidate” for the procedure before it’s carried out.
If signed into law, surgical castration would not be an automatic punishment applied to all cases, but one handed down at a judge’s discretion.
The law received some pushback from people who argued it constituted “cruel and unusual punishment,” especially for first time offenders.
Sen. Regina Barrow, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, argued against that claim from the perspective of victims.
“For me, when I think about a child, one time is too many,” she said in April.
“We are talking about babies who are being violated by somebody,” Barrow said. “That is inexcusable.”
With Post wires
