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Jindal signs chemical castration bill

By MICHELLE MILLHOLLON
Advocate Capitol News Bureau
Published: Jun 26, 2008

Characterizing sex offenders as monsters, Gov. Bobby Jindal signed legislation Wednesday that would force convicted rapists and others to undergo chemical castration.

“I am glad we have taken such strong measures in Louisiana to put a stop to these monsters’ brutal acts,” the governor said in a prepared  statement.

Jindal signed Senate Bill 144 into law on the day that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Louisiana cannot execute people who rape children under the age of 12.

The governor blasted the high court’s decision.

“I am especially glad to sign (SB144) into Louisiana law … on the same day the Supreme Court has made an atrocious ruling against our state’s ability to sentence those who sexually assault our children to the fullest extent,” he said.

SB144 is “a good bill,” Jindal said, that sends the message that Louisiana will fully punish those who harm children.

The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Nick Gautreaux, D-Meaux, did not return a call for comment late Wednesday afternoon.

During the legislative session, Gautreaux said the bill was inspired, in part, by the crimes of the Rev. Gilbert Gauthe.

Gauthe, a Roman Catholic priest, pleaded guilty in 1985 to molesting a number of boys in Vermilion Parish. He was arrested earlier this year near Galveston for allegedly failing to register as a sex offender.

The bill would allow judges to order chemical castrations for convicted rapists and other sex offenders.

Most debate about the bill during the legislative session centered on which crimes should apply.

Originally, the legislation was written broadly, extending to crimes like simple kidnapping and molestation of a juvenile.

Lawmakers whittled down the list of crimes.

SB144 now applies to aggravated rape, forcible rape, second-degree sexual battery, aggravated, incest and aggravated crimes against nature.

On a first offense, a judge would have the option of ordering injections of medroxyprogesterone acetate, which suppresses a man’s sex drive by reducing testosterone levels.

The injections would be mandatory on a second offense.

The castration treatments would start no later than a week before an incarcerated offender’s release from prison