Alabama Puts Pedophiles On Notice, Chemical Castration Bill Delivered To Governor's Desk https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/06/Untitled-design-2019-06-05T100726.459-345x181.jpg The state would also require the sex offender to pay for the treatment. If the offender stops receiving the treatment, it would be considered a parole violation — which means a trip straight back to prison. According to KADN-TV, the treatments would start a month before the individual was to be released from prison. The court would decide when and if the treatments would end. The bill passed the state House by a vote of 72-16 and the Senate by a 27-0, according to Legiscan. “If we do something of this nature, it would deter something like this happening again in Alabama and maybe reduce the numbers,” GOP state Rep. Steve Hurst, the man who introduced the bill, told Birmingham’s WIAT-TV. “They have marked this child for life and the punishment should fit the crime.” He’s introduced the bill before but had received complaints. “I had people call me in the past when I introduced it and said, ‘Don’t you think this is inhumane?'” Hurst said. “I asked them what’s more inhumane than when you take a little infant child, and you sexually molest that infant child when the child cannot defend themselves or get away, and they have to go through all the things they have to go through. If you want to talk about inhumane — that’s inhumane.” https://www.cbs42.com/top-stories/alabama-considers-chemical-castration/2050636492 The bill, even if signed into law by Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, would face Eighth Amendment challenges regarding cruel and unusual punishment. “They’re going to claim that it is cruel and unusual punishment for someone who has served their time and for the rest of their life have to be castrated,” attorney Raymond Johnson told WIAT. Whether it violates the Eighth Amendment has never really been settled by the Supreme Court, but it’s worth noting that a 2002 case — McKune vs. Lile — found that a rehabilitative program that forced sex offenders to admit their guilt didn’t violate the Fifth Amendment’s protections against self-incrimination because it was a “clinical rehabilitative program” with a “legitimate penological objective.” Presumably, the same standard could apply in some way to the Eighth Amendment and protections against cruel and unusual punishment. And it’s not exactly cruel and unusual punishment when we’re talking about a deterrent. These are dangerous criminals whose sick, predatory actions represent a legitimate danger to the community after their release from prison. Chemical castration is certainly one way to lessen that risk once they get back into the community. A 2005 German study concluded that “[o]rganic treatments (surgical castration and hormonal medication) showed larger effects than psychosocial interventions” when it came to treating sex offenders. “Any action that we can take against a child molester that would prevent them from ever committing this type of crime again, I support, including chemical castration,” state Rep. Allen Treadaway told KADN. “I think this bill is one of those steps to ensure public safety.” It’s not likely to touch off as much debate as Alabama’s abortion bill, but this is still going to cause a hue and cry from liberals. Well, fine. The state of Alabama has the obligation to keep its citizens — particularly its children, their most vulnerable citizens — safe. This is just one way they’re doing it. ( LINK BELOW ) https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/alabama-puts-pedophiles-notice-chemical-castration-bill-delivered-governors-desk/