Hmmm......

Why NOT castrate rapists, and cut off the hands of thieves, the tongues of userers. We already kill the killers. And, while we're at it, why not go back to branding the first letter of the crime they committed on their forheads, after say, the third offense. "M" for murderer, "T" for thief, "S" for sexual offenders..., "C" for child molestors, and so on.

I think the punishment should fit the criminal. Maybe our justice system should begin tailoring more options.

I'm NOT espousing this for first-offenders, sometimes people DO make mistakes, or are in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think first offenders should be given every opportunity to be reformed, and to show that they're ready to resume a meaningful role in society.

Why are you equating surgical castration with ending somebody's life?

A man who has been castrated/neutered can go on to lead a productive, normal life.

This is NOT like cutting somebody's hand off. This is NOT like branding somebody.


But never-mind...

Let's continue to let repeat rapists and sexual predators just go on as is. Let's do nothing but what we're doing. Let's say it's okay to have thousands upon thousands of people be victimized, every year, because we refuse to fix a system that is clearly broken.

Something needs to be changed. Surgical castration is ONE step in the right direction - and it's a HUGE step.

Let's stop putting the rights of criminals ahead of the rights of law-abiding citizens.

Fred do they have neighborhood predator laws in Texas? Here they passed a law that sexual offenders can not live within certain distances of childcare facilities or schools.

It put some of them in a bind for finding places they can live and it is not a full cure for the problem just a start.

To the others who do not think stopping a child molester will help. I was the youngest victim of a predator at the young age of five. If that person had been stopped in anyone of the ten plus many more before I was a victim, it is very possibly I would not have been a victim.

I agree with OD on this one, to think for one second a person just simply goes on in life after such an ordeal is shear ignorance. Many live just as I did for years unable to sleep from the terror and fear of what falling sleep could bring. Once asleep many also awake from unbelievable screams of terror and nightmares. Most of those I know that had been in that same place before I was have not gotten over it still.

hk, thank you for your thoughts also. Very considerate of you to share in detail so others can have some understanding.

Oh, believe me, I am in no way saying that nothing should be done about or to rapists and child molesters. I'm a parent too, don't forget, and I've known people whose lives have been devestated by sexual abuse.

I like unusual information, mostly of the historical nature, and had read that the Castrati were often involved in sexual relationships. So, I did a little more sideways digging into the truth of this.

The following statements are taken from:
Google Groups: soc.support.transgendered
in regard to whether or not a castrated male can acheive an erection.

1. Yes, though it's likely to be far less spontainious and short lived. Keep in mind that the testis and their hormones are gone but all the other plumbing is intact and functional. I know this from two people I've known who were castrated by their own choice and found that erections were possible with help from their lover.
2. I guess the answer to your question is that hormones, in this instance testosterone, are only chemical messengers. Even without the messengers, the _structures_ in the body (in this case the erectile tissue in the penile shaft) remain in place and potentially operable. If another "message" can be delivered via the nervous system or via the use of other chemical messengers, those structures are ready and able to function. For more background, you might want to look up the causes of priapism and see if some are strictly related to circulatory functioning, psychosis, etc.
3. You are correct... erection is possible after castration but it is dependant upon the individuals endocrinological profile.

The primary data point here is that androgens are not only produced in the male testes... they are also produced in the adrenal glands for instance - in both XX and XY human genotypes. The level of androgen production varies and may be high enough in some castrated males to initiate erection upon arousal. This adrenal production of androgens can cause some anatomical anomolies in XX people - it is called Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia and can be a form of intersex in genetic females (it also causes other metabolic problems which are sometimes life threatening). Conversely, the testes produce a fair amount of estrogens... enough to completely feminize a male whose cellular receptivity to androgens is lacking. This is called Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome.
...I think that priapism may be a sort of issue unto itself and, I
believe, more related to the nervous system. It is an interesting thought though... would someone with priapism retain the syndrome after castration? My guess would be yes because I _believe_ the etiology is CNS related. Hormones are my schtick though.

4. Yes, but the definitive anwer is, "Sometimes."

The adrenal glands ALSO produce testosterone, and are, in fact, the main source of said hormone in women. In SOME castrated males, this is sufficient to allow continued sexual function. As I understand it, there was a study done of soldiers who were castrated by a particularly nasty mine the Germans used during World War II.

A short article on the effects of castration:
Go Ask Alice!: Castration effects

A personal story from a gay male about the effects of his personal castration:
Being a Castrated Male

A historical perspective on castration, especially referring to eunuchs:
Eunuch

Ultimately, full castration, removal of not only the testes, but the penis as well, would be the only way of preventing a man from using the organ as a weapon against others. That wouldn't prevent some deranged lunatic from thinking up some other way of harming others in a sexual way, in fact, it might make them even more devious.
Keeping them out of society is the only true way to make sure they won't do anything ever again.

Yes, in fact I could well conclude that they might go into trafficking for other perps. Like a drug dealer who doesn't do the drugs himself, but deals.

The problem is a selfish mind that does not value life, counts anyone fair game for his own whims, counting all lives as so much meat. Is prone to both perversion and violence, and is depraved.

OD

Chemical castration is another possibility which six states have examined.

Chemical castration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Obviously it's not as permanent, and depends also upon the criminal showing up to get the injections.

Why am I equating castration of any kind to killing??!

I didn't know that I was!!!

I think maybe you should re-read what I said! If a man has a problem controlling himself, then maybe the answer is removal of the offending member. This is a VERY old form of Justice, currently in use in the Islamic world, but historically found all over.

I was stating, in my own way, that maybe the answer is to go back to an older style of punishment.

Yes, we do, and it's very easy to look them up on the internet to see who lives near you, although it seems that most people either don't know they can do this, or just don't care.
I have looked up all the predators living in my community. I know who they are, where they live, and what they look like. This is not to say that I will interfere in their lives, but at least if they start focusing on my children, I know who they are. Kind of like the saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."