catherine becker
Catherine BeckerMeet Catherine Becker, this year's Lorena Bobbit. The 48-year-old California woman drugged her husband so he'd be sleepy, tied him to the bed, and then waited for him to wake up. When he did, she cut his penis off, put it in the garbage disposal, and turned it on. Then she called 911.

Police found her husband, 51, bleeding from the crotch and rushed him to the hospital. He is in critical condition. Becker has been charged with aggravated mayhem, false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon, administering a drug with intent to commit a felony, poisoning, and spousal abuse. That's a lot of charges.

What would inspire someone to do such a thing?

When Lorena Bobbit severed her husband John's penis in the infamous 1993 case, she said it was because he raped her and had sexually, physically, and emotionally abused her throughout their marriage. She accused him of infidelity and of forcing her to have an abortion. She was found not guilty at trial by reason of temporary insanity.

John Bobbit's penis was not put through a garbage disposal and was surgically reattached. And he tried to use the notoriety of the case to make a buck -- he started a band called The Severed Parts and he appeared in a porn movie. In 2007, Lorena Bobbit founded Lorena's Red Wagon, which helps to prevent domestic violence through family-oriented activities.

There's not much news out there on why Catherine Becker cut her estranged husband's penis off, but she seems to have had "a plan." She had the poison available to drug him and seems to have thought the whole thing out. The couple were getting divorced and Becker supposedly told police that her husband "deserved it."

Which raises the question:

Are there any circumstances under which a man "deserves" to have his penis cut off?