Thailand is close to implementing chemical castration as a method of combating s*x crime. After lawmakers approved a bill that will allow some criminals the ability to select the surgery in exchange for a reduced prison sentence.

Late on Monday, 145 senators voted in favor of the measure, which the lower house had approved in March. There were two abstentions. Another vote in the house is still necessary, followed by royal approval.

4,848 of the 16,413 convicted s*x offenders who were freed from Thai prisons between 2013 and 2020 reoffended, according to data from the correctional department.

In accordance with the proposed legislation, those s*x offenders who are considered to be at high risk of reoffending may decide to undergo injections that lower their testosterone levels in exchange for serving less time in prison, provided they have the endorsement of two doctors.

The bill stipulates that the offenders must wear electronic monitoring bracelets and be tracked for ten years.

If accepted, Thailand would join a select group of nations that employ chemical castration, which also includes some U.S. states, Poland, South Korea, Russia, and Estonia.

“I want this law to pass quickly,” Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said on Tuesday. “I don’t want to see news about bad things happening to women again,” he said.

Chemical castration, according to Jaded Chouwilai, director of the Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation, a non-governmental organization that handles s*xual assault among other issues, won’t stop s*x crime. “Convicts should be rehabilitated by changing their mindset while in prison,” he said.

“To use punishment like execution or injected castration reinforces the idea that offender can no longer be rehabilitated.”

Pakistan made the announcement last year that rapists charged of repeat offenses would be castrated.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

At a recent performance on the European leg of his tour with famed guitarist Jeff Beck, Johnny Depp, and his attorney Camille Vasquez had the chance to reconnect with them outside of court.

Depp was introduced to her boyfriend, WeWork executive Edward Owen, by the lawyer who assisted him in his defamation action against the actress.

The Mail reports that Depp pulled 38-year-old Owen in for a bear hug, as the group smiled together. Vasquez received praise from the general public and the media for her role in ensuring Depp’s triumph over Amber Heard; she was even elevated to the position of partner at the legal firm of Brown Rudnick LLP. She was compelled to refute reports that she was dating Depp, meanwhile, as a result of social media rumors.

Describing the rumors as false, the 37-year-old told People: “I guess it comes with the territory of being a woman just doing her job.”

She continued: “It’s disappointing that certain outlets kind of ran with it or said that my interactions with Johnny — who is a friend and I’ve known and represented for four-and-a-half years now — that my interactions in any way were inappropriate or unprofessional. That’s disappointing to hear.”

However, when the video was posted on Instagram, fans couldn’t help but express their happiness at seeing Depp and Vasquez back together. “Love it! I’m sure they will have a friendship that will last a lifetime,” one Instagram user commented.

A second agreed, writing: “A friendship bonded in the courtroom and now they are all best friends for life.”

The footage went viral after a judge denied Amber Heard’s request for a retrial in the defamation case.

As reported by MailOnline, the Aquaman actor’s legal team asked for the judgment to be overturned or a new trial to be scheduled in a 48-page filing earlier this month “proceeded solely on a defamation by implication theory, abandoning any claims that Ms. Heard’s statements were actually false.”

Heard’s team also referenced Juror 15’s claimed improper vetting in the court brief as justification for a new trial. The potential juror answered a summons for a jury that was sent to his father, who has the same name and address.

Judge Azcarate, noting that the grievance regarding Juror 15 was immaterial, rejected Heard’s request for a retrial in a written order published on July 13.

“The juror was vetted, sat for the entire jury, deliberated, and reached a verdict,” said Azcarate, adding: “The only evidence before this court is that this juror and all jurors followed their oaths, the court’s instructions, and orders. This court is bound by the competent decision of the jury.”

Heard received $2 million as part of her countersuit, and the court awarded Depp $10.35 million in damages.

Source: vt.co