Castration: Is Justice A Cut Away?

647 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Chemical castration pros

“He asked a jail guard for a razor. He told the guard he wanted to look nice and clean-shaven for his court hearing the next day. The guard hesitated but handed Jenkins the blade. Jenkins walked to the shower in his cell. He bit the blade out of its plastic casing and stuffed an apple in his mouth to muffle his screams. Then he castrated himself and flushed his testicles down the jail cell toilet. (The Washington Post 1).” In recent years, this story of James Jenkins has stirred up controversy regarding whether or not castration is an acceptable cure and/or punishment for sex offenders. To many, it is believed to reduce sexual urges as well as reduce the cost for treatment centers. However, to others it is a violation to our Eight Amendment, no cruel or unusual punishment, and will not prevent future sex offenders from committing these crimes. The options of punishment and treatment of our justice system has changed dramatically due to science and technology advances. While our justice system has proven to provide the necessary treatment and punishment for sex offenders, more and more victims and offenders are finding that castration is not only cost friendly, but a clever solution to the war on sex crimes.
In chemical castration, drugs are administered to lower the testosterone level, which in result reduces sexual urges. In surgical castration, the testes are removed through an incision in the scrotum. On September 18, 1996, California became the first state to authorize the use of either chemical or physical castration for certain sex offenders who were being released from prison into the community (Charles L. Scott, MD, and Trent Holmberg, MD). One point in question whether castration is effective is that those who sex offend ...

... middle of paper ...

...h, to the democratic mind, are odious. We prefer a meaningless collective guilt to a meaningful individual responsibility.”

Works Cited

Charles Scott and Trent Holmberg, L. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.jaapl.org/content/31/4/502.full.pdf
Dickson, M. (n.d.). Rape, the Most Intimate of Crimes. PBS. Retrieved March 31, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/kued/nosafeplace/articles
Rondeaux, C. (2006, July 5). Can Castration Be a Solution for Sex Offenders?. Washington Post. Retrieved April 1, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/04/AR2006070400960
Sealey, G. (2014, March 2). Some Sex Offenders Opt for Castration. ABC News. Retrieved April 1, 2014, from http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93947&page=1&singlePage=true
Weinberger, L., Sreenivsan, S., Garick, T., & Osran, H. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://jaapl.org/content/33/1/16.full.pdf

Show More
Related

  • Risk-Needs-Responsivitiy Model

    2728 Words  | 6 Pages

    Witt, P., Greenfield, D., & Hiscox, S. (2008). Cognitive/behavioural approaches to the treatment adult sex offenders. Journal of Psychiatry & Law, 36(2), 245-269, retrieved from EBSCOhost

    Read More

  • Criminal Justice Management Case Assignment Models

    1571 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is very common for these individuals to be monitored for drug use during this treatment/therapy regimen so as not to undermine the program or the criminal justice system. Psychotherapy is often best for a population such as sex offenders. Since no medication has yet been proven to be effective against a sex offender’s urges, cognitive behavioral therapy (as well as intense supervision) is the most effective modality of

    Read More

  • The Rise of America’s Prison Empire

    1930 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the event that a prisoner (particularly a sex offender) does complete rehabilitation, he carries with him a stigma upon reentering society. People often fear living near a prior drug addict or convicted murderer and the sensational media hype surrounding released felons can ruin a newly released convict’s life before it beings. What with resident notifications, media scare tactics and general concern for safety, a sex offender’s ability to readapt into society is severely hindered (554). This warrants life-skills rehabilitation applied to him useless, as he will be unable to even attempt to make the right decision regarding further crime opportunities.

    Read More

  • Sex Trafficking Victims Protection Act: A Case Study

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    Policies have proven to be counterproductive due to a multitude of fundamentally inapt bases to include: exaggerated statistical information inconsistently used; lack of protection safeguards for victims; inadequate resources on various levels; discretionary provisions that are incongruously applied; criminal conjecture; rigidity towards immigrant status in the sex trade; limited sanctions placed on traffickers; lack of fiscal resources; corruptive implications; and a complete lack of safety for children being reintegrated in the community (Vance, 2011). Ultimately, proving to complicate further the rehabilitation of children traumatized by sex

    Read More

  • Racism: Incarceration of a Household Member and Hispanic Health Disparities

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    and Sexuality in US Prisons." Critical Survey 23, no. 3: 55-66. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost. doi:10.3167/cs.2011.230305

    Read More

  • Canada Should Focus More on Rehabilitation and Less on Retribution

    3232 Words  | 7 Pages

    Yates, P. M. (2005). Pathways to treatment of sexual offenders: Rethinking intervention. Forum on Corrections Research, 17, 1-9.

    Read More

  • Platos Repulic, book V

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...or other punishments. Whether restraint of sexual instincts are willingly accepted or forced upon a community, the results can lead to a decidedly non-ideal situation.

    Read More

  • Sex Offender Recidivism

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sex offender legislation has been encouraged and written to protect the community and the people at large against recidivism and or to help with the reintegration of those released from prison. Nevertheless, a big question has occurred as to if the tough laws created help the community especially to prevent recidivism or make the situation even worse than it already is. Sex offenders are categorized into three levels for example in the case of the state of Massachusetts; in level one the person is not considered dangerous, and chances of him repeating a sexual offense are low thus his details are not made available to the public (Robbers, 2009). In level two chances of reoccurrence are average thus public have access to this level offenders through local police departments in level three risk of reoffense is high, and a substantial public safety interest is served to protect the public from such individuals.

    Read More

  • Background of Sex Offender Registries

    2351 Words  | 5 Pages

    Sex offender legislation has become a controversial topic in the recent years. There have been numerous laws enacted in response to sex offender crime. Do these laws really work to help minimize re-offending, or do they give the public a false sense of security and cause recidivism? In a several studies researchers found no evidence of sex offender registries being effective in increasing public safety. Some studies have found that requiring sex offenders to register with law enforcement may significantly may reduce chances of recidivism. However, the research also found that making registry information available to the public may back fire and lead to higher levels of overall sex crimes

    Read More

  • Is Chemical Castration a Good Thing?

    1266 Words  | 3 Pages

    A bill was passed recently saying that if a child molester was convicted twice of molesting a child under the age of thirteen years, they would be court ordered to do this procedure. In a recent article Assemblyman Bill Hoge, the bill’s chief sponsor had said “Why not give these people a shot to calm themselves down and bring them under control,” (qtd. in Geier). When a molester has to go through this treatment they have to get injected weekly with Depo-Provera. This drug is supposed to calm down the molesters sex drive. In a recent questionnaire, I have found out that 48% percent of people belived in Chemical Castration and that 48% did not believe in it. Only 4 % of the people did not know what this procedure was.

    Read More

  • Limiting Sexual Deviance by Castration

    1272 Words  | 3 Pages

    Scott, C. L., & Holmberg, T. (2003). Castration of Sex Offenders: Prisoners' Rights Versus Public Safety. Journal Of The American Academy Of Psychiatry And The Law, 31(4), 502-509.

    Read More

  • Recidivism of Sex Offenders

    2497 Words  | 5 Pages

    problem for the public, as potential victims, and the legal system which is entrusted by the public for protection. It would be irresponsible for the legal system to ignore the criminal class of sex offenders, for they are subject to a recurring physiological urge that requires the use of effective restraints that would curb the habitual repetition of episodes producing the harmful consequences to the public(Schopf 95). In light of this realization, steps beyond treatment have been taken to reduce the recidivism rate of sex offenders. Notification laws, special supervising techniques by parole officers, and both surgical and chemical castration are techniques used in various forms in this country and abroad with success. However, notification laws and both forms of castrations

    Read More

  • Rape: A Living Nightmare

    3121 Words  | 7 Pages

    The society we live in is rape-conducive, rape-friendly, if you will. Despite the anger I feel joining those two words together, I know the sad paradox holds within it a great deal of truth. We are a violent society that has shrouded rape in mystery and shame. To stop this nightmare’s venomous crusades, all people must wage a private war to eradicate their own acceptance of the savage crime. While it is only a minority of men that actually commit rape, it is everyone’s silence that tells them it’s ok.

    Read More

  • The Problems with Our Justice System

    536 Words  | 2 Pages

    Second time offenders of sex crimes such as rape should be castrated and emasculated slowly with a dull, rusty knife. The criminal should be revived every time he passes out from pain. This heinous crime deserves this much at the very least. After all, this person has violated another person and taken something away, a trust that can never be fully restored. The victims of these crimes never fully trust again.

    Read More

  • Effects Of Rape On Women

    1146 Words  | 3 Pages

    Webster’s Dictionary describes rape as the crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts, especially sexual intercourse. Rape is a crime in which most women cannot defend themselves. The fear of rape plagues every woman at some point or another in her life. The traumatic effects of rape vary from mild to severe, from psychological to physical. This paper will evaluate rape, as well as the effects it has on women, the theory behind male dominance and patriarchy, and differences in demographics.

    Read More

More about Castration: Is Justice A Cut Away?

Open Document