Those Crazy Czech Sex Offenders

CNN reports on the situation in the Czech Republic.

The Czech Republic's practice of surgically castrating convicted sex offenders is "invasive, irreversible and mutilating" and should stop immediately, the Council of Europe's Anti-Torture Committee said in a report made public Thursday.

The Council of Europe condemned the practice as "degrading."

The procedure is being performed even on first-time, non-violent offenders, such as exhibitionists, its investigation revealed.

It only takes a quick dance through the internet or a minimal familiarity with the conservative mindset to see that this barbarism will receive wide support. All the law-and-order types and the personal-responsibility folks will be quick to point out the efficacy a policy like this. All the vengeance seekers and the eye-for-an-eye characters will applaud this insanity. The Czech government is doing it, after all.

It argues the procedure is effective in reducing repeat offenses.

I wonder if that's true. Putting aside for a moment the questions of privacy and torture, of human rights, does it really work?

But the Council of Europe questioned the statistics on repeat offenses and said even if they were correct, castration was not an appropriate way to reduce recidivism.

"The committee's delegation came across three cases in which sex offenders had committed serious sex-related crimes, including serial rape and attempted murder, after they had been surgically castrated," the human-rights group said.

Studies, which I'm sure are just a click or two away, have suggested that rape is not about sexual attraction in many cases, but about power and violence. It's about subjugating another person and violating them. I suppose the theory is that the drive to harm others in this way does not come from the same testosterone that promotes the sexual urge. Of course, if this is true, then the Czech policy is all the more barbaric. What do you think?

But, what about gelded horses? Isn't that practice done to promote docility? Wouldn't the same thing work on humans?

And what does this say about the power of deterrence? I can't imagine how the would-be rapist who knows that the penalty could be castration, can go ahead and rape. To me this proves that deterrence does not work. The reason it doesn't work, as I've said before, is that criminals plan on getting away with their crimes, they don't plan on getting caught. Sometimes this is a calculated, well-thought-out criminal plan, while other times it's pure delusion. The result is always the same. Deterrence fails to inhibit criminals.

What's your opinion?

Austria's Sex Slave Patriarch Talks

Time magazine reports today on the statements made public by the infamous Austrian man who'd imprisoned his daughter in the cellar.

Ever since Josef Fritzl, the authoritarian patriarch of a sprawling family in the north Austrian town of Amstetten, was discovered to have imprisoned his daughter as a sex slave in a cellar for 24 years and fathered seven children with her, Austria has been locked in an emotional debate over what could cause such a crime.

After considering several possibilities, the psychiatrists decided the explanation behind these crimes was personal rather than societal. Fritzl had been severely abused himself as a child. Consistent with the increasingly popular modern interpretation, the doctors in Austria concluded that in this case the victim became the perpetrator.

Fritzl himself has a different explanation.

Fritzl reportedly blamed his behavior not on his upbringing but on an innate "evil streak" that he battled against his whole life. "I was born to rape, and I held myself back for a relatively long time," Fritzl reportedly told Kastner. "I could have behaved a lot worse than locking up my daughter."

Psychiatrist Adelheid Kastner wrote a 130-page report in which she says Fritzl suffers from severe combined personality disorder and a serious sexual disorder. Kastner recommends that Fritzl remain in psychiatric care for the rest of his life, regardless of the outcome of his prosecution.

Austrian authorities meanwhile are focusing on the rehabilitation of Fritzl's 42-year-old daughter Elisabeth and her six children. Psychiatrists say the children are more likely to suffer from a range of psychological problems in adulthood, including becoming abusive themselves. As a nation obsesses over one man's evil, the challenge now is to help his children escape their dark past.

What's your opinion? Is he evil or damaged? Should he receive psychiatric treatment or plain old incarceration? Do you agree that victims of abuse often become abusers themselves, and they should receive leniency as a result?

Home Invader Killed

The Indy Channel reports on the death of a would-be rapist.

A man who police said broke into a home with the intention of sexually assault a 17-year-old girl in her bedroom died early Sunday morning after a struggle with the girl's father.

David Meyers (pictured), 52, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after officers arrived following a report of a home invasion in the 3500 block of West 79th Street at about 3:20 a.m.

It seems Meyers, who had already served 10 years of a 20-year sentence for criminal confinement and sexual deviate conduct, entered the house with every intention of raping the teenager.

Indianapolis police Sgt. Matt Mount said Meyers had come into the home naked, except for a mask and latex gloves.

"He had rope, had a knife, had condoms, had a gag," Mount said.

I guess bringing a rope, knife, condoms and a gag to the scene is supposed to be proof of his intentions. What I'd like to know is, how exactly did he carry all that stuff while climbing through the window? Could all that rapist equipment be held in one hand while he pulled himself into the house with the other? Maybe he held the knife between his teeth.

In any case, the story is this: the evil sex offender climbed into the house, at 3:30 a.m., adrenalin pumping, wide awake. The father, Robert McNally, awoke out of a sound sleep by the sound of his daughter screaming and did what any father would do in this situation. He subdued the bad guy, who was ten years his junior and a hardened ex-con, and killed him with his bare hands. Now, I don't know about you, but to me this sounds preposterous. Maybe Mr. McNally was a tough 64 year-old karate expert who worked out at the gym three times a week, but it didn't say that in the article. Maybe he got lucky.

It seems to me there's more here than what's reported. Nevertheless, it brings up some good questions. Should more good guys be armed for home protection? Should sex-offenders be released after serving half their sentence? Is there something wrong with the sex-offender registering program? Can those guys ever be rehabilated?

What do you think?

Tony Alamo Arrested

In Flagstaff Arizona, Tony Alamo was arrested on charges related to a child porn investigation, according to CNN. We discussed him last week when his Utah compound was raided. Perhaps the arrest comes as a result of information gathered in the raid.

Alamo was charged under a federal statute with having knowingly transported a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity...

I really don't see how evidence supporting that could have come from the raid. At this point, I don't feel very convinced that the government has a good case against him. Perhaps it'll turn out like the Warren Jeffs story, and more and more information will reveal Alamo to be a true predator, but so far, I don't see it.

I believe what's often lost in cases like this, is the founding principle that he's innocent until proven guilty. I don't understand how people are so quick to condemn someone at the first mention of child sex abuse, when we have so much evidence lately that the government oversteps its bounds whenever it wants to. The FBI and law enforcement people have been known to fabricate charges, exaggerate facts and railroad people. I'm waiting for more facts to be revealed.

At the site called Cranium Creek there isn't much more than copied and pasted sections of the CNN stories, but by the title of the post, "Another Preacher Gone Wrong," you can get the author's opinion. The commenter pulls no punches.

On the Maybe It's Just Me blog, there's a post with a witty title, "Someone did Lay Hands on Tony Alamo" There's the cryptic line, "Well, I guess God heard my cry."

What's your opinion? Is it too early to write old Tony off? Apparently, he's a big Catholic basher, describing himself as the "completed Jew." Some might want to credit him for that.