Sex offenders in Alabama risk ‘chemical castration’ under governor’s new law
- According to local media, the main backer of the law previously tried to pass a bill requiring surgical castration for child molesters
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has signed a bill that will require people convicted of certain sex offences to undergo “chemical castration” as a condition of parole – a requirement meant to keep perpetrators from committing similar crimes.
Ivey signed the bill on Monday – the last day under Alabama law that she could have done so after the state legislature passed it on May 31.
The “chemical castration” law says a judge must order anyone convicted of a sex offence involving a child under the age of 13 to start receiving testosterone-inhibiting medication a month before their release from prison.
Most offenders will have to pay for the treatment, which will be administered by the Department of Public Health, until a judge decides the medication is no longer needed.
If they’re using this punitively … just carte blanche, without a proper assessment ... that makes no sense to me
An offender can choose at any time to stop getting the medication and return to prison to serve the rest of their term. Anyone who stops receiving the castration treatment without approval will be considered guilty of a Class C felony, punishable under Alabama law by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to US$15,000.
