Alabama Passes Bill to Chemically Castrate Certain Child Abusers
New HB 379 bill will target pedophiles and sex offenders who abuse children under 13
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Some child sex offenders will be required to undergo chemical castration before they are released from prison under a new Alabama bill that is awaiting the signature from the governor.
The new HB 379 bill, introduced by Republican state Rep. Steve Hurst, will target pedophiles and sex offenders that involve children under the age of 13, the legislation states.
Speaking to WIAT-TV in Birmingham, Hurst said, “they have marked this child for life, and the punishment should fit the crime."
Child sex offenders will be obligated to pay for their own procedure under the new bill.
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Those who refuse to undergo the procedure would violate their parole, according to the bill.
Hurst states that the bill is aimed to decrease sex crimes committed against children, sending a strong signal out to would be offenders to think twice before they act.
"If we do something of this nature, it would deter something like this happening again in Alabama and maybe reduce the numbers," said Hurst.
"I had people call me in the past when I introduced it and said, 'Don't you think this is inhumane?'” Hurst said, referring to the bill.
“I asked them what's more inhumane than when you take a little infant child, and you sexually molest that infant child when the child cannot defend themselves or get away, and they have to go through all the things they have to go through. If you want to talk about inhumane -- that's inhumane.”
Child sex offenses is already a serious offense punishable with severe prison time and probation following parole, Attorney Raymond Johnson said told CBS 42.
"They're going to challenge it under the Eighth Amendment Constitution," Johnson added.
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Use of chemical castration was first legalized in California in 1996 and used for the same purpose as the Alabama bill.
But Attorney Raymond Johnson admitted he expected the Eighth Amendment would be used to challenge the law in court.
"They're going to claim that it is cruel and unusual punishment for someone who has served their time and for the rest of their life have to be castrated."
The bill has now been passed over to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey's desk and awaits her signature.
Although other states like Florida and Texas have already legalized the procedure, it is still unclear how frequently the process will be used.
Last year, the Kazakhstan government began chemically castrating pedophiles as authorities confirmed they had 2,000 injections lined up.
The first pedophile up for the injection in the country was an unnamed child sex attacker in the Turkestan region and will be supervised by the country's health ministry, according to officials.
