Commentary how Rapists should be Punished

Rape can be among the most devastating things that can befall a woman. Far too many people believe that rape is a sexual event. While the event is sexual in nature that is not what rape is. Rape is all about control and power. The rapist is often looking for a way to feel powerful so there are acts that he can perform upon not only women but men and children can all be raped. Although we hardly think of men when it comes to rape and we put children into another category altogether – child abuse.

There are many ideas regarding the punishment of rapists. There are some places in the world that will execute the rapist. Some of that execution involves hanging or stoning. It’s obvious that the USA does not execute in those ways but it does execute, in some states, for murder but some believe that should expanded to include rape. Is that the way we should go?

Should the USA move to include rape in the body of crimes that one can be executed for? If not, then how should we punish rapists? Currently, the jail time varies from state to state and even at the best of times rapists can be released early due to overcrowding issues. Due to the time and money involved with executing murderers the idea of executing rapists would only exacerbate the overcrowding issue. It would also increase the costs to taxpayers dramatically because of the 2 million dollar plus price tag associated with executions.

So, what then are we left with as a society? Perhaps the best way to go might include a combination of things. Firstly, society could determine just how much jail time they felt was appropriate for the crime. Would it be appropriate then to chemically castrate the offender for life?

Depro-provera is a drug that reduces sexual fantasies and prevents a man from getting an erection. Depro-provera is something that can be administered every 3 months and has to be done by trained personnel; a parole officer could even be trained to inject the drug into an offender. If the offender failed to show up for his depro injection then you could simply have him arrested for violating conditions of his release. Oh, and the offender would have to pay for the cost of the drug, whether it’s depro or another drug, so that the public is spared that cost.

Executing rapists is an expensive and an overreaction to the situation. Yes, rape is a monstrously horrible act but killing the offender is not the way to go.