A Florida judge has agreed to sentence a man to 25 years if he has a surgical castration in the next eight days. Bobby James Allen pleaded guilty to three counts of armed sexual battery and other charges. The use of such punishments is highly controversial and a departure for conventional sentencing. There is an obvious and grotesque element to such sentencing. Notably, the prosecutor expressly stated that the victims viewed the castration as part of the punishment for the defendant and a deterrent for others. Such physical mutilations or surgerical operations have long be viewed as an area of abuse by civil libertarians. For the full story, click here.