Louisiana judges can now sentence certain sex offenders to surgical castration, after Gov. Jeff Landry on Tuesday signed a bill into law that creates that penalty.

Offenders who receive such a sentence may refuse the procedure, in which case they would face an additional three to five years in prison.

Senate Bill 371 by Senate President Pro Tempore Regina Barrow, a Baton Rouge Democrat, received bipartisan support in the Legislature.

As Landry signed SB 371 in a ceremony at the Louisiana State Capitol, he sat beside Barrow and state Rep. Delisha Boyd, D-New Orleans.

“This is a method for us to protect our children,” said Boyd, who proposed a bill this year that would have established vasectomies as a form of punishment for sex offenders. House Bill 166 passed the House but then stalled in a Senate committee, failing to make it to Landry’s desk.

  • Flying Squid
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    165 months ago

    Tattooed. See Kafka’s “In The Penal Colony.”

      • Flying Squid
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        45 months ago

        Your loss, Kafka was one of history’s greatest writers. I do not say that lightly.

        • mad_asshatter
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          35 months ago

          No loss - I’m kafkaesque in real life. It’s almost tragic.