Castration for Sex Offenders

Supervisor Schabarum is justified in his concern about sex offenders, although we have better controls than “castration.”

In 1982 the Legislature abolished the mentally disordered sex offender statutes after great public pressure. Most people did not know the facts and were seeking simplistic solutions to a complex problem. The Judicially Committed Persons Program in Los Angeles County Mental Health Department did treat and continues to treat all types of mentally disordered sex offenders with particular success. The rapist, however, is the most likely to re-offend of all sex offenders.

The public believed that sex offenders were being “coddled,” while in fact they were under the most intensive supervision and treatment system in existence. The cry was to put them in prison, and sentences, indeed, were lengthened to support this. That was reasonable if they never got out, but we know this does not happen.

As a result of this change in 1982 dangerous people are permitted to go to prison, get their sentences reduced by half for “good behavior and work,” which is meaningless for future behavior. Then they return to the community with only a short period of lax supervision. How does this protect the public? When the mentally disordered sex offender is too dangerous to be released from the state hospital his sentence can be extended. Compare that with the prison systems.

Public protection was seriously compromised by hysteria and ignorance. We should strive to regain the protection that we had up to 1982.

DONALD T. LEE

Woodland Hills