During the Middle Ages, the crime of rape was often punished by castration. Henry de Bracton, a 13th-century English jurist and cleric known for his influential work on English common law, famously stated, “Let the defiler be punished in the parts in which he offended.”
Louisiana appears poised to echo this medieval practice. On June 3, 2024, the Louisiana legislature approved a bill allowing surgical castration as a sentencing option for certain aggravated sexual offenses against children younger than thirteen.
Details of Senate Bill 371
Senate Bill 371, which was originally sponsored by Senator Regina Barrow, introduces surgical castration as a sentencing option for specific aggravated sexual offenses when the victim is under the age of thirteen.
This procedure, to be performed by a licensed physician from the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, can be added to any other sentence imposed for the offense.
Before surgical castration can be ordered, a court-appointed medical expert must determine if the offender is an appropriate candidate for the surgery. This assessment must be completed within sixty days of sentencing. For offenders incarcerated or confined in an institution, the procedure must be conducted no later than one week before their release.
If an offender fails to comply with the court order for the procedure or refuses it, they will face additional imprisonment of three to five years without the possibility of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. The bill also clarifies that surgical castration is not mandatory if it is not medically appropriate and excludes offenders under the age of seventeen from this sentencing option.
Additionally, the bill amends the crime of unlawful presence of a sex offender, raising the maximum age of the victim in certain circumstances from thirteen to fifteen years.
Learn more about the various types of sexual abuse, the frequency of sexual abuse, and the statute of limitations in sexual abuse cases.
What crimes are eligible for the castration sentencing option?
The crimes eligible for this sentencing option are those defined as sex offenses under R.S. 15:541 that are also classified as aggravated offenses, excluding sexual battery prosecuted under R.S. 14:43.1(C)(2) and second-degree sexual battery. In Louisiana, this includes offenses such as rape, molestation, and human trafficking for sexual purposes.
Is Senate Bill 371 constitutional?
In the landmark case of Skinner v. Oklahoma (1942), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an Oklahoma statute that permitted the sexual sterilization of habitual criminals. The Court found that this statute violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The case involved Jack T. Skinner, who had been convicted of stealing chickens and robbery.
The Oklahoma Habitual Criminal Sterilization Act mandated sterilization for individuals convicted of felonies involving moral turpitude, but it exempted crimes such as embezzlement.
Skinner argued that the law was unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court agreed, stating that the statute arbitrarily discriminated between different types of criminals without a rational basis.
Justice William O. Douglas, writing for the majority, emphasized that the right to procreation is a fundamental liberty essential to the survival of the race. He pointed out that the law’s unequal application—sterilizing those who committed larceny but not those who embezzled—was a clear violation of the Equal Protection Clause. He warned that in “evil or reckless hands,” such a law could be used to target and eradicate specific groups deemed undesirable by those in power.
Senate Bill 371 is likely to face similar challenges over its constitutionality.
Representative Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge, has already objected to the bill on the basis that the punishment would likely be handed down inordinately to Black men.
“Who does this affect most? I know it’s race-neutral. I know we say it can apply to anybody, but we all know who it affects.”
Representative Edmond Jordan
Senate Bill 371 currently awaits approval from the Louisiana governor to become Louisiana law.
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