Louisiana state Rep. Delisha Boyd, a co-sponsor of her state’s surgical castration bill, wants sex offenders to receive the most “severe punishment for child rape.”
“If you rape a child, you steal their innocence,” and the “5-year-old will never be the same,” Boyd said during a Monday appearance on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports. “There’s nothing that could be done that will make that child whole again, or the 12-year-old, for that matter.”
A person found guilty of a sex crime against a child in Louisiana could soon be ordered to undergo surgical castration, in addition to prison time.
Louisiana lawmakers gave final approval to a bill Monday that would allow judges the option to sentence someone to surgical castration after the person has been convicted of certain aggravated sex crimes — including rape, incest, and molestation — against a child younger than 13.
Several states, including Louisiana, currently can order such criminals to receive chemical castration, which uses medications that block testosterone production in order to decrease sex drive. However, surgical castration is a more invasive procedure.
If an offender “fails to appear or refuses to undergo” castration after a judge orders the procedure, they could be hit with a “failure to comply” charge and face an additional three to five years in prison, based on the bill’s language.
Boyd also said legislators didn’t want to make the bill “gender-specific,” so it applies to both men and women.
The bill has been controversial due to Louisiana ranking high among wrongful conviction rates. Data from the National Registry of Exonerations was analyzed by a legal funding company and the findings showed that Louisiana ranks number nine in compensation paid by the state for wrongful convictions.
Boyd said there’s a workaround to ensure that innocent people aren’t castrated — the punishment would not be enforced until the convict has served their full sentence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
