MUNFORD, Ala. — State rep. Steve Hurst (R-Munford) believes he has found the appropriate punishment for convicted pedophiles: surgical castration. Legislation filed by Hurst this week would require offenders convicted of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 12 to be surgically castrated before their release from prison. The offender must be 21 or older and must pay for the surgical procedure themselves.
Other states including California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Montana, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin, allow chemical or surgical castration of repeat sex offenders, but this law would be one of the toughest in the country.
The American Civil Liberties Union and a bevy of other civil rights groups have lobbied against the practice calling it “cruel and unusual punishment” and therefore in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
This is Hurst’s third attempt to pass his castration bill. In his previous attempts, 2013 and 2014, the bill failed to make it out of committee.
During the bill’s first introduction in 2013, Hurst explained his position to The New York Daily News. He argued that his plan was not inhumane at all. Instead, he insisted it would be cruel not to implement it. “What is inhumane is to molest a child, especially an infant,” Hurst said. “That’s inhumane.”
The bill will be sent to the Alabama House of Representatives judicial committee.
