I read once that the unofficial motto of Alabama is "where the men are lonely and the sheep are scared." Well it seems that the tables have turned, and now it's Alabaman men's turn to be scared.
Alabama legislators are trying to toughen laws against violent sex offenders with a state House bill proposing that anyone convicted of molesting a child under the age of 12 should have to undergo surgical castration.
The reasoning behind this state-mandated genital mutilation?
According to Associated Press, Steve Hurst, D-Munford (a Democrat?) said, "Someone 12 or under can't defend themselves. I don't believe [the convicts] should ever be back in society. But if they are going to be back in society, it should be in a reformed way where they can't become a repeat offender."
Oh, OK, so all the victims over 12 years old were able to defend themselves. They just didn't choose to. Child abuse is a sign of a problem with your balls, not your head. Gotcha, Steve.
The measure also leaves some other questions unanswered. First of all, what if you are convicted by mistake? I know that's hard to believe given Alabama's long history of having a fair and balanced judicial system, but it theoretically could happen.
So there you are, missing a pretty essential part of yourself when by some miracle of God (maybe it's the Ten Commandments in the courtroom?) your innocence is discovered. Sucks to be you, don't it?
What possible reparation could anyone provide for not only the humiliation you had to endure, but also the health and reproductive consequences that come as a result of this disgusting procedure? How about if you're a female offender? The bill is clearly sexist in providing "solutions" to only the male population's problem. Although the ratio of male to female offenders is very lopsided, isolated cases do exist, and it is the obligation of law makers to provide for all possible perpetrators, not only a group that they single out. The very fact that you are no longer able to reproduce is a violation of human rights, not to mention a violation of a 1940s Supreme Court decision stating that sterilization is an unconstitutional punishment.
But folks, let's come back to the issue. We are talking about sweet home Alabama. So if castration seems like a drastic measure, let's take a look at what former governor Don Siegelman proposed as a solution to the problem of child molesters. Friday he concluded his statement of the issue by stating, "They need to protect children from predators who need to be castrated or killed."
Now they're not just getting rid of your family jewels, now they are getting rid of you.
I am in no way trying to defend the criminals that take advantage of the most vulnerable members of our society. Rather, I am trying to protect the judicial system from turning into an inhumane, blood-spilling institution. Instead of settling for retributive justice, we should be looking to the causes, not the symptoms of the problem. Having testicles does not make you a child molester. Removing them will likely not make you stop being one.
The real problem--one that requires far more effort to resolve than castration--is the containment of the men's perverted desires. One measure that has met with significant success is a monthly lie-detector test administered to convicted molesters. Knowing that they will have to take the test prevents previous abusers from acting on their dark urges. In the end it is the mental, not physical, aspect that controls human actions, and the appropriate legislative answer should also focus on mental, rather than physical, means.
Lucia Bill is a journalism and political science junior. Reach her at lucia.bill@asu.edu.
