California recently passed a statute requiring surgical or chemical castration of some sex offenders as a condition of parole. Some critics foresee serious constitutional and human rights violations. Others endorse the statute as a measured response to a serious and growing problem. This article discusses the legal perspectives of the new California law.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Medical Association. (1996). Policy Compendium. Chicago, IL: Author.
2.
Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200 (1927).
3.
Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1997). Correctional populations in the United States, 1995. Washington, DC: Author.
Cruzan v. Missouri Department of Health, 497 U.S. 261 (1990).
7.
Davies v. Berry, 216 F. 413 (1914).
8.
FitzgeraldE. (1990). Chemical castration: MPA treatment of the sexual offender. American Journal of Criminal Law, 18, 1-60.
9.
FromsonK. (1994). Beyond an eye for an eye: Castration as an alternative sentence. New York Law School Journal of Human Rights, 11, 311-337.
10.
FurbyL., WeinrottM., & BlackshawL. (1989). Sex offender recidivism: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 3-30.
11.
HallG. (1995). Sexual offender recidivism revisited: A meta analysis of recent treatment studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 5, 802-809.
12.
HansonR., SteffyR., & GauthierR. (1993). Long-term recidivism of child molesters. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 646-652.
13.
HicksP. (1993). Castration of sexual offenders: Legal and ethical issues. Journal of Legal Medicine, 14, 641-667.
14.
IcenogleD. (1994). Sentencing male sex offenders to the use of biological treatments: A constitutional analysis. Journal of Legal Medicine, 15, 279-304.
15.
MeyerW., ColeC., & EmoryE. (1992). Depo Provera treatment for sex offending behavior: An evaluation of outcome. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, 20(3), 249-258.
16.
PetersK. (1993). Chemical castration: An alternative to incarceration. Duquesne University Law Review, 31, 307-328.
17.
Rennie v. Klein, 653 F.2d 836 (1981).
18.
RiceM., QuinseyV., & HarrisG. (1991). Sexual recidivism among child molesters released from a maximum security psychiatric institution. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 381-386.
19.
Skinner v. Oklahoma, 316 U.S. 535 (1942).
20.
State v. Brown, 326 S.E.2d 410 (1985).
21.
VanderzylK. (1994). Castration as an alternative to incarceration: An impotent approach to the punishment of sex offenders. Northern Illinois University Law Review, 15, 107-140.
