The Role of Government in Ordering a Convicted Rapist - Research Paper Example

THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ORDERING A CONVICTED RAPIST TO UNDERGO CHEMICAL CASTRATION Introduction: “Will chemical castration be effective in stopping sex offenders?” Despite the fact, that at least eight states in America have already passed a law to incapacitate convicted sex offenders by way of chemical castration, the deliberation with regards to the efficacy of chemical castration still lingers. Chemical castration is a particularly controversial example of incapacitation of sex offenders with hormonal drugs that supposedly reduce or eliminate the sex drive. (Chemical Castration,” Encyclopedia Britannica . 2010). No permanent physical alteration is required to conduct this procedure, which involves the use of a birth control drug called Depo Provera that quells the sex drive of male sex offenders. (Meisenkothen, Christopher “Chemical Castration-Breaking the Cycle of Paraphiliac Recidivism,” Social Justice. Crime & Social Justice Associates. 22 March 1999. 26 Issue. 39). Another name of Depo Provera is medioxyprogsterone acetate (MPA). Cyproterone acetate or Androcur did not prove to be effective in one patient, while Triptorelin may show signs of fewer side effects as it creates sexual apathy in men by reducing level of testosterone. (Hamilton, John R. “Chemical Castration and Consent to Treatment,” Psychiatric Bulletin. London. 493-494). Chemical Castration with the use of Drugs: On males, the drugs, such as MPA or Depo Provera, Cyproterone acetate and Triptorelin effectively suppresses erections and ejaculations which are products of erotic thoughts and imaginations. Aside from suppression of erections, the drugs can lead to more discouraging conditions, such as mental depression, lowered ejaculatory volume and impotence. Expectedly. several studies had pointed out numerous side effects, such as weight gain, fatigue, abnormal sperms, insomnia, nightmares, difficulty in breathing, hot and cold flashes, loss of body hair, leg cramps, irregular bladder function, aggravation of migraine, elevation of blood pressure, hypertension, diabetis, thrombosis and shrinkage of the prostate and seminal vessels. If one has to absorb all of these, one can surmise, that chemical castration is neither a treatment nor a punishment, but a slow-motion execution of the convicted criminal. It is safe to ponder that this is not what government wants. In almost all the states allowing chemical castration, a defendant is usually cautioned by a court-appointed expert of the medical risks in taking the drugs. Of the eight states that had approved the passage of the chemical castration law, California was the first in the United States, followed by Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Montana, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin (not in its chronological order). In all these states, they are all hopeful that recommending chemical castration to convicted rapists who may have served their prison term, would be more of a treatment rather than a punishment. The common feature in all state laws is that chemical castration would have to be administered before any sex offender will be released from custody after doing time in prison; or it can be a condition of sentence reduction or pending parole of the sex offender. The law of Georgia states that treatment must continue after the offender is released and until he demonstrates to the court that the treatment is no longer necessary (Norman-Eady, Sandra “Castration of Sex Offenders,” OLR Research Report. 21 Feb 2006). Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana signed Senate Bill 144 into law on the day that the US Supreme Court ruled Louisiana cannot execute people who rape children under the age of 12. (Millhollon, Michelle “Jindal Signs Chemical Castration Bill,” The Advocate. Louisiana 26 June 2008. 6A). Sex Crimes and the Reasons behind the crimes: There are many types of sex offenders, but basically the punishment or treatment of chemical castration may be imposed on paraphiliacs, rapists, child molesters and pedophiles The treatment may be effective depending on the kind of defendants who will be subjected with chemical castrations. There is a kind of defendant who will never admit of having committed a sex crime. This is the kind of defendant who will not be so receptive to the treatment. Another sex offender who will be more difficult to correct is the one who would admit to commission of a crime but will blame his behavior to non-sexual or non-personal forces such as drugs, alcohol or job stress. This kind of sex offender will refuse to admit that he is sick. In any psychological impairment or say, addiction, may it be to drugs or sex, it can be determined if a sex offender is treatable. When a sex offender begins to show signs of remorse and the acceptance that he needs help and that he is getting out of control of his unacceptable behaviors, then he is on the right road to recovery, and definitely treatment will not be wasted. For government to be more helpful in the employment of chemical castration, it has to realize that a man who have a sound mind and proper moral values, will never resort to such a despicable crime of molesting children. Therefore, it should be acknowledged that all sex offenders are sick in the mind, more likely due to chemical imbalance in the brains, which for others, pushes them to commit suicide. Furthermore, sex offenders are examples of weakness. When one cannot fight back against something that is monstrous happening to him personally, it is definitely a sign of weakness. There are many factors that should be blamed for the pitiable plight of such men. It is best if government will be cognizant about this issue in order for government to give the proper support needed to make the chemical castration program a success. If this program will be a success, then offenders may be ready to become contributing members of society again. The US Penal System, effective or not, is purportedly designed to protect society from harmful members and rehabilitate those who can rejoin society (“Off With Their Hormones: Chemical Castration is Cruel and Unusual,” The Michigan Daily Online, University of Michigan. Editorial Page). Despite the passage of the law in many states, apprehensions that chemical castration will be not that effective can be felt. For some, not only is chemical castration ineffective, it can be a cruel and unusual punishment, even just basing on the side effects of the drugs. Government must remember that just because a convicted rapist has been chemically castrated, recidivism will be unlikely, which is not so. Rapists can resort to violence or rape, with or without a penis, especially so when the injections of the drugs like depo provera will be discontinued. In so doing, the abnormal sex urges of the sex offender will have the tendency to be active again. There are countless underlying causes behind the criminal behaviors exhibited by convicted rapists. It is usually a sickness in the mind of the individual, without him being aware of it, and no one was around to tell him so, or bring him to medical professionals for help. This could easily aggravate into violent tendencies. When a child had been physically, mentally and emotionally abused, and there was no one to turn to for help, then by all means, his reasoning powers and moral values could have definitely been crashed, and inwardly, he can be destroyed as a human being. There are more ways to abuse children, either by aggression or dominance, thus, for someone who had not been exposed to proper education, inflicting violence on others by raping a child would be perceived as normal. Role of Government in implementing Chemical Castration In this write-up, it is the contention that government has no choice but to see to it that the law on chemical castration will be properly applied, will have to be beneficial for all concerned, and will have to do away with the disadvantages, as long as it can be overcome. Furthermore, there is a presumption here that government will have to lend support to sex offenders for voluntary chemical castration. In Canterbury vs Spence, the court stated that the root premise to the doctrine of informed consent, is the concept, fundamental in American Jurisprudence, that every human being of adult years and sound mind has a right to determine what shall be done with his own body (Spalding, Larry Helm “Florida’s 1997 Chemical Castration Law: A Return to the Dark August 2008). Sex offenders courses will have to be established in a more conducive environment, wherein the convicted sex offenders will learn to feel more comfortable, and that no one is around to reject them. The need to feel they belong and that they are not outcasts is important for them. The courses should include moral values, spiritual concerns, social interaction and other subjects that would equip them to be welcomed back to society. The program of courses for the sex offenders must be in conjunction with psychotherapy and supervision as well, to ensure its effectiveness. This calls for psychology and psychiatric experts, because the sick part of the body of the sex offender is definitely in the brain. Even women undergoing menopausal has the tendencies to go crazy, because it is at a stage when there is hormonal imbalance in the whole system. The government should provide properly designed support groups, that can strengthen their resolve to change. Again, professionals are needed to offer an effective support group. The sex offenders are not individuals who are going to be released because of the treatment. They are offenders who have served their time. The treatment is not part of punishment, but aims to reduce the likelihood that they will need to be punished again (Stokes, Paul “Pedophiles To Be Offered Form of Chemical Castration,” Telegraph. US. 26 Champion Magazine. December 2009. 26). In all the conceived roles, it will prove to be costly on the part of government. Government will have to hire more personnel, in order that the follow up of every case will be on a more personalized note. The sex offenders will have to be closely monitored, even though they are already participants in support groups and sex offender courses. The government has to allocate a considerable amount of budget to be able to support its program of helping back sex offenders who are undergoing chemical castrations. If chemical castration is recommended for life, then the support of the government will have to be available for life as well. Side effects due to injections of drugs like depo provera will be inevitable. Although chemical castration is supposed to be a treatment, it should be noted with regret, that the sex offender will be needing continuous treatment, to overcome the discomfort, and perhaps pain that they may have to experience in view of the chemical castration inflicted on them. There has to be an on-going medical treatment and efficient call for damages/healthcare when side effects become evident. Government will have to constantly advise the sex offenders who may be undergoing chemical castrations with regards to the side effects, the advantages and disadvantages. Although this does not give the sex offender a choice whether to continue the treatment or not, suffice it to say, it can alleviate the unexpectedness of the damage that they will experience. When one is aware of what will happen to their body upon taking the drugs, it can compensate for the fear that they will have to encounter, that gradually, they may have to deteriorate. Another support that government can establish to help sex offenders taking drugs for chemical castration is the cognitive therapy. It is common to combine chemical castration with cognitive therapy, which includes empathy training, sexual impulse control training, relapse prevention programs. Overall, the therapy serves to awaken the offender to the damages the offender has caused. (Sirmons, Jeff “The Availability of Chemical Castration to Control Sex Drive,” The Champion Magazine. December 2009. 26). It should be reiterated, that a sex offender is about violence and power. Men are more violent than women, women have much lower testosterone levels than men and it has been proven that many violent men have high testosterone levels (Gideon “Thoughts on Chemical Castration,” A Public Defender Blog. Connecticut. Posted 29 May 2007). If only men will be aware of this, he can be made to understand, that it is not exactly himself who is committing the crime, but it is the imbalance in him, then he may be able to empathize. Government should be aware that one of the causes why some men become sick in the mind up to the point of raping children, is that all their life, they are alone, they do not know how to cope with rejections and loneliness. It cannot harm them if they will learn to realize that there can be some unseen power from which ever flowing graces can be availed of. One may call it “God,” or for some, it is simply faith in a powerful being, who is always there to help when all else fails. It cannot harm government, if they will ask the assistance of some spiritual group, who can teach the sex offenders, that it is possible that they are never alone. It is the lack of faith in an individual that usually leaves him empty. Government should work hand in hand with any spiritual group that it deems to be effective and competent in giving support to sex offenders. Parole provisions for sex offenders to include monitoring, curfews, residential assessments and voluntary chemical castrations, were considered to be beneficial as a pre-condition for parole (Rosler, Ariel (MD) and Witztam, Eliezer (MD) “Treatment of Men with Paraphilia with a Long-Acting Analogue of Gonadotropia-Releasing Hormone,” 338 New England Journal of Medicine. 416. 12 Feb 1998). Especially when a rapist had committed recidivism, or repeated crime, government has to monitor the whereabouts of the recidivist. Imposing curfews can be effective for monitoring purposes, and providing them with decent residential accommodation would be easier on the part of government, again, to monitor their activities. If this is the case, government will have to incur more expenditure in providing for a decent community for the sex offenders, and again, more personnel to enforce the curfew rules and coincidentally for monitoring purposes. Another role that government can play in the lives of convicted sex offenders who are undergoing chemical castrations, is being a provider of jobs and recreations for the offenders. When an offender begins to presume he is needed and he is useful in a society, he begins to feel he is important and of value to others. Self-importance plays a giant factor in every individual who aims to be appreciated for his good work. When people begin to commend him for a job well done, it gives him a reason to live for and be accepted, and will see to it that he does not hurt another person. Encouraging sex offenders to participate in sports and recreational activities can prove to be the outlets whenever they feel inadequate in expressing themselves. There should be time to play, sing and dance and have fun, because no matter how trivial it can be, nobody can refute that laughter is the best medicine. When assigning sex offenders to available jobs, the people in his work area should be apprised of the crimes of the sex offender, and that he should be given a second chance in society, and in life. The government must ensure though, that a sex offender is ready to interact with other human beings, and he should expect adversarial reactions, because not all persons can tolerate sex offenders, even though they are aware that there is a need to give a second chance. There is danger when the sex offenders are not yet ready for social interaction, because a minute hint of rejection might trigger off undesirable reactions. The moment government is assured that it has covered all angles in support of the sex offenders while they are undergoing chemical castration, the government now has an obligation to educate the children and the parents, especially. In a lot of cases, sex offenders went undetected, because the children themselves are not aware that something unacceptable is being done to them. There was once a case of a young girl who was abused by her father. The young girl did not know any better, that what was being done to her was not normal, until at the age of twelve, and she saw on the television a case that was similar to her situation. Her initial reaction was to commit suicide, but luckily she had help, psychologically. She was the one who told her story. On the other hand, when the sex offender is a member of the family, the usual case is that the other members of the family tend to keep mum about it, for fear of humiliation, and with the hope that it will just go away. This is where government should come in. When everybody is educated and open to the indecencies that they may have to face, and that being a victim of rape or child abuse is nothing to be ashamed of, then more likely, the prospective sex offender or recidivists will not be encouraged to commit another heinous sex crime. Finally, there is a need for government to stress to the sex offenders that when they are subjected to chemical castration, it is not a punishment, but a treatment, except when government would ignore the side effects and comfortably watch the sex offenders suffer, then it becomes punishment. However, in the eight states that had approved into law chemical castration for sex offenders, it is imperative for them to allow room for refusal of the judge to grant a certificate for treatment in the case, taking the view that the medical commissioner must first consider whether the proposed treatment was likely to alleviate the patient’s condition or to prevent its deterioration (Hamilton, John R. “Chemical Castration and Consent to Treatment,” Psychiatric Bulletin. London. 493-494). Conclusion: In any case, no matter how government will look at chemical castration, whether as a treatment or a punishment, the government has no choice, but to allocate a sizeable amount of budget to lend its support for the possibility of transforming sex offenders into contributing members of society. The main reason why a sex offender would try chemical castration as an alternative to prison, is centered around the hope of gaining another opportunity at live a more normal, meaningful life in society. A sex offender who can show remorse for his actions and strives to change, may be able to live a decent life with a good moral value. (Sirmons, Jeff “The Availability of Chemical Castration to Control Sex Drive,” The Champion Magazine. December 2009. 26). Most of the sex crimes committed, if not all, may be attributed to a sickness, even though they blame non-sexual factors such as anger and hatred. Rehabilitation and reduction in recidivism can only occur when the drug addresses the specific behavioral abnormality of the particular sex offender. When the treatment is voluntary, the individual genuinely wants to address his aberrant behavior, and there is extensive therapeutic counseling and monitoring of the individual. (Spalding, Larry Helm “Florida’s 1997 Chemical Castration Law: A Return to the Dark Ages,”1998 Florida State University Law Review). In reality, sexual assaults are about violence, power and humiliation of the survivor or victim. And yet, such an opinion rebounds back to only one conclusion, that a person who indulges himself to violence and forces his power on another person to humiliate the other, is plain sick, chemically and hormonally. Which means, that whether they undergo chemical castration voluntarily or not, there is a need for government to confine them in a secured area, that has no semblance to prison atmosphere, if possible until they are diagnosed to be free from any form of imbalance inside their system. It has been reported that because of the use of chemical castration, recidivism rates are down from 50% to below 5 % in Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Germany and Iceland, while Texas has reported repeat sex offender rates of just 2.2%, because government provides support for the efficacy of chemical castration to reduce recidivism rates (Alexander, Marc “Sex Offenders, Recidivism and Chemical Castration,” Sensible Sentencing Trust. United Future, New Zealand. 10 March 2010). The bottom line is, the government will have to increase its budget to serve the more noble needs of helping sex offenders to get back on their own feet, steadily at that. Sex offenders are victims themselves, and government have never focused on how to address the major question. . .”can the government gather enough resources to get the sex offenders cured of its sickness?” Works Cited: 1. Alexander, Marc “Sex Offenders, Recidivism and Chemical Castration,” Sensible Sentencing Trust. United Future, New Zealand. 10 March 2010. 2. “Chemical Castration,” Encyclopedia Britannica . 2010 3. Gideon “Thoughts on Chemical Castration,” A Public Defender Blog. Connecticut. Posted 29 May 2007. 4. Hamilton, John R. “Chemical Castration and Consent to Treatment,” Psychiatric Bulletin. London. 493-494. 5. Meisenkothen, Christopher “Chemical Castration-Breaking the Cycle of Paraphiliac Recidivism,” Social Justice. Crime & Social Justice Associates. 22 March 1999. 26 Issue. 39. 6. Millhollon, Michelle “Jindal Signs Chemical Castration Bill,” The Advocate. Louisiana. 26 June 2008. 6A. 7. Norman-Eady, Sandra “Castration of Sex Offenders,” OLR Research Report. 21 Feb 2006 8. “Off With Their Hormones: Chemical Castration is Cruel and Unusual,” The Michigan Daily Online, University of Michigan. Editorial Page. 9. Rosler, Ariel (MD) and Witztam, Eliezer (MD) “Treatment of Men with Paraphilia with a Long-Acting Analogue of Gonadotropia-Releasing Hormone,” 338 New England Journal of Medicine. 416. 12 Feb 1998. 10. Serrell, Michael S. “Castration or Incarceration? 3 Rapists Face What Critics Call Cruel & Useless Punishment.” Time Magazine. US Edition. 12 Dec 1983. 70. 11. Sirmons, Jeff “The Availability of Chemical Castration to Control Sex Drive,” The Champion Magazine. December 2009. 26. 12. Stokes, Paul “Pedophiles To Be Offered Form of Chemical Castration,” Telegraph. US. 26 August 2008. 13. Spalding, Larry Helm “Florida’s 1997 Chemical Castration Law: A Return to the Dark Ages,”1998 Florida State University Law Review. Read More