ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 16, 1992                   TAG: 9203160171
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

CASTRATE REPEAT SEXUAL OFFENDERS

THE STORY of a local psychiatrist charged with child-molesting brings to the foreground the issue of punishment for this type of heinous crime, along with others like rape and sodomy.

Should an otherwise productive member of society be thrown in prison and given years of therapy? The psychiatrist himself testified as an expert witness in another sexual-abuse case that this treatment does no good. Why spend thousands of taxpayers' dollars for rehabilitation when it doesn't work? Why not castration for repeat sexual offenders?

We are asked to show compassion for an offender because he is mentally ill. What about the innocent victims whose lives are forever marred by these sick people? Castration would be a permanent solution that would still allow the sexual abuser to be a functioning member of society.

This may seem primitive and animalistic, but then so are the crimes committed by these people. LANCE COPPERMAN SALEM 


 by CNB