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Abstract
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[SafetyLit note: This 19th century editorial appeared in a journal that primarily contains articles where allopathic medicine is compared unfavorably to homeopathy.]
Dr. W. A. Hammond does not approve of the death penalty, but recommends as a substitute castration. He thinks nearly every man would rather die than submit to the operation, and that castration would be infinitely more effective in preventing crime than the death penalty, either by hanging or electrocu tion. Dr. Hammond quotes a French writer, with evident ap proval, that the dignity of a man resides in his testicles. " Juries would be less squeamish about discerning guilt, in cases of doubtful testimony, if life-taking were not one of the conse quences of finding a man guilty. The punishment would be continuous, and not momentary and intense, and in the con tinuance of a punitive award will be found its greatest effect. Castration changes the whole relations of the man, and, while the brand upon him would be as bad or worse than the mark upon Cain, he would be removed from many criminal tendencies. He cannot open his mouth without exposing what has happened to him ; his facial expression becomes altered ; he becomes effemi nate and cowardly; he loses his appetite for alcoholic drink. In the case of a man who mutilated himself while delirious from alcohol, this act was the means of his reformation...
"This punishment, of course, cannot apply to women. They have become so accustomed to the removal of ovaries, and these organs as so much less essential to womanhood than the testicles are to manhood that it might be necessary to substitute impris onment for life in their case."
Language: en |