Even this feels like playing softball with people who have already proven that they cannot and will not stop.
Take a recent case out of Louisiana. A 37-year-old man, guilty of attempting to rape a child under 13, agreed not only to 40 years in prison but to chemical and physical castration as part of his plea deal. Some may flinch at the very thought, but let us not be naïve. There are certain offenders who will never be rehabilitated. They are hardwired to reoffend. No amount of therapy or “reintegration support” changes that.
So why is New Zealand not prepared to take that next step?
Imagine if our Three Strikes law had real ‘mana’ - at the second strike for a sexual offence, chemical castration becomes mandatory. For those unfamiliar, chemical castration does not involve knives or surgery. It involves medication, such as anti-androgens or SSRIs, that suppress libido and intrusive sexual thoughts. It is not about cruelty, it is about control. It could be the difference between another child being harmed or not.
Take a recent case out of Louisiana. A 37-year-old man, guilty of attempting to rape a child under 13, agreed not only to 40 years in prison but to chemical and physical castration as part of his plea deal. Some may flinch at the very thought, but let us not be naïve. There are certain offenders who will never be rehabilitated. They are hardwired to reoffend. No amount of therapy or “reintegration support” changes that.
So why is New Zealand not prepared to take that next step?
Imagine if our Three Strikes law had real ‘mana’ - at the second strike for a sexual offence, chemical castration becomes mandatory. For those unfamiliar, chemical castration does not involve knives or surgery. It involves medication, such as anti-androgens or SSRIs, that suppress libido and intrusive sexual thoughts. It is not about cruelty, it is about control. It could be the difference between another child being harmed or not.
On a third strike, if the offender ever wants to see daylight again, surgical castration should be the price of release. Too often, sex offenders sit through rehabilitation courses, tick the boxes the parole board sets for them, and walk straight back into communities only to prey on more victims. We have all read the headlines. We all know how this ends.
Three strikes for sexual offending is already far too generous. These are not “second-chance” crimes. They are not the mistakes of a troubled youth or a bad patch in life. They are deliberate, calculated, and devastating offences that shatter lives. New Zealand owes it to victims, past, present, and future, to stop pretending that rehabilitation always works and start dealing with the reality of repeat sexual predators.
It is time to stop coddling the worst of the worst. If we are serious about community safety, then chemical castration should not just be on the table. It should be law.
Matua Kahurangi is just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes. He blogs on https://matuakahurangi.com/ where this article was sourced.
1 comment:
While I admire the chutzpah - physical castration doesn’t automatically stop a sex offender either - much damage can still be done to a victim even without a phallus. Maybe a home for sex pests in a remote location for life? A sort of, minimum security mental home if you will.
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