Mutilation is a punishment which most Americans associate with Saudi Arabia, where thieves can have their hands lopped off. But this week a 78-year-old Louisiana sex abuser was surgically castrated.

Mutilation is a punishment which most
Americans associate with Saudi Arabia, where thieves can have their hands
lopped off. But this week a 78-year-old Louisiana sex abuser was surgically castrated
so that he could be paroled after serving 13 years of a 27-year sentence.
Francis Phillip Tullier underwent the 10-minute operation at the Earl K. Long
Medical Center. Mr Tullier had to cover the expense of the operation himself. Since
2008 chemical or surgical castration for as a punishment for some sex crimes has been legal
in Lousiana, but this is the first time it has happened. Sheriff Major Richie Johnson told the Daily Mail: “I’m not aware of any other cases of physical
castrations in the state, but I wish we’d use it more often.” ~ New York
Times, Mar 4

Michael Cook
castration
mutilation

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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