Alabama ‘chemical castration’ law questioned

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Some Alabama sex offenders who abuse children will have to undergo “chemical castration” while on parole, under a new law, but the requirement has prompted legal concerns.

The procedure uses medications that block testosterone production in order to decrease sex drive. The Alabama law says sex offenders whose crimes involved children between ages 7 and 13 must receive the medication before being paroled. Alabama doesn’t allow parole for sex crimes involving children 6 and under.

After Gov. Kay Ivey’s office announced last week that she had signed the bill, some legal groups raised questions.

Dillon Nettles, a policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, said the law hearkens back to a “dark time” in history.

“It presents serious issues, involving involuntary medical treatment, informed consent, privacy and cruel and unusual punishment,” Nettles said.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Steve Hurst of Munford, scoffs at that argument.

“How in the world can it be any more cruel and inhumane than to molest a child? I want someone to answer that one for me, but they can’t,” Hurst said.

Hurst said he hopes the medication will protect children by stopping abusers from reoffending.

The medications’ effectiveness can vary. The hormonal treatment can be useful for a subgroup of offenders whose crimes are driven by sexual attraction to children and want to reduce those urges, said Dr. Frederick Berlin, who treats patients with sexual disorders at Johns Hopkins Hospital and at an independent clinic.

However, he has concerns about a blanket criminal justice approach without evaluating the appropriateness in each case.

“Speaking now as a physician, I think it’s absolutely inappropriate to use a medical treatment as a criminal sanction,” Berlin said.

He said it’s not effective for people whose crimes were driven by drugs, mental illness or other issues.

“These laws tend to go on the books because people understandably are frightened. They want to protect children, which I hope every reasonable person wants to do,” Berlin said.

“At its worst, I think the motivation, if we are just going to say it crudely: ‘We are just going to castrate the bastard.’ Or at its best it’s a misunderstanding, and lack of understanding when it would and when it wouldn’t be medically appropriate.”

The stereotypical child molester is male, but a fraction of sex offenders are women. Berlin said the situation is more complicated for women because of hormonal balance involved in the menstrual cycle, but treatment with a drug like Depo-Provera has been used to help some women gain better self-control.

At least seven states have laws authorizing chemical castration in some form, but the laws appear to be rarely used in those states.

California was the first state to pass such a law in 1996. Ike Dodson, a spokesman with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said it is rarely used there. Two parolees are currently receiving treatment. Dodson said one of them is mandated to receive it under law, and the other requested it voluntarily.

Prison officials in Montana and Louisiana told The Associated Press last year that they’re aware of only one case in each state in the past decade in which a judge ordered the treatment.

Texas even allows repeat sex offenders to opt for surgical castration. Texas and Florida did not have numbers immediately available on use.

Georgia had a chemical castration statute but repealed it. Oregon also had a pilot chemical castration program, but it was repealed.

Alabama lawmakers say the state law is constitutional because it only applies when an inmate seeks release on parole. Inmates who opt to serve their entire sentence would not have to take the medication.

“I think it’s constitutional because it’s not mandatory,” Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Cam Ward said.

Hurst began pushing the legislation more than a decade ago after hearing the story of an infant who was sexually abused. He originally proposed permanent surgical castration, but he was told by the state’s then-attorney general that it would be found unconstitutional.

The proposal won final passage this year on a quick vote in the Senate.

Hurst said he’s open to improvements in the law, and would like to see a university involved in a future study on effectiveness. But for him, it comes down to simple justice for sex offenders.

“If they are going to mark those children for life, they need to be marked for life,” Hurst said, adding, “My real feelings are that they need to die.”