Sex offenders might not want to visit Prague any time soon. During the past ten years, at least 94 convicted sex offenders have been surgically castrated in the Czech Republic, the only European country that uses this unusual punishment.
The castration for convicted sex offenders is not mandatory, however, but is offered in exchange for a reduced jail sentence. The medical rationale is that castration permanently reduces testosterone levels and therefore reduces offender's sexual urges.
Human rights groups have been protesting this for quite a while as a cruel and unusual punishment. The Council of Europe's Anti-Torture Committee has investigated and condemned the practice as "invasive, irreversible and mutilating". Yet Czechs say that the procedure is effective as none of the castrated individuals have commited any further offenses.
When I first heard about it, I thought it was bizarre and cruel. But when you think about it, the crimes that these individuals have committed are infinitely more cruel. And the worst part is that they do it again when they get out of jail. If castration is what it takes to protect the society from them, perhaps this procedure should be given some consideration.
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Ted Kappes
ProfessorEmeritusPAB
Roger Fallihee
nanatehay
amittaizero
Morton Nadler
Salon.com
Comments
It may not be a perfect solution, but it certainly does the trick.
Rated.
I couldn't agree more. Zero tolerance for rapists is the way to go as far as I'm concerned, providing the case against them is air tight. One rape is too many, but at least the Czech method means they won't be able to be repeat offenders.
But are you stalking me Drew?
that's not so cruel.
Yes! zero tolerance and firm prevention.
Anyway, when doctors say that there isn't enough evidence that the procedure is effective, I don't think that they have enough data. How many people have been castrated so that they could be studied? I think that they could use the Czech data for more study, anyway.