Well if they mention their dad is in prison its a bit too late to sterilize, don't you think? If folks in prisons are rather less educated and have lower IQ than average, they are having children earlier in life than average... all this means that you probably won't catch the issue 'at the source' in most cases so to say.

That goes without even going into morals, bad incentives and overall this-is-not-a-good-idea-in-democracy stuff. Imagine if, instead of these severe punishments, you would try to make people better human beings in prisons, teach them skills they can use for honest life once getting out and actually properly help them out? Most folks in prisons are not career criminals, not when they enter the system. I know, very non-righteous-conservative-living-by-bible approach. Instead, ie in US prison record ruins your life, and population generally doesn't give a fuck, you went to prison, you deserved it, now suffer and suffer more, you are sub-human.