Child Molester Walks
The AP reports that a Huntsville man, after pleading guilty to sex crimes against his adopted sons, will serve no time in jail, despite the plea agreement include 15 years jail time for each of three first-degree sodomy charges. The abused children are now 13, 14 and 16. According to the news report, the judge, Karen Hall, was following the prosecutor's recommendation:
Circuit Judge Karen Hall sentenced Jerry Wayne Love, 51, to 15 years on each of three first-degree sodomy charges Monday. But she followed the prosecutors' recommendation, ordering Love to spend five years on probation and undergo treatment in a sex offender program.
Assistant District Attorney Allison Palmer said the prosecution made a recommendation of 5 years probation on each count and treatment in a sex offender program for Jerry Wayne Love , the defendent. She claims they wanted to protect the children from having to testify in court against Love.
I know that plea bargains can be offered for a variety of reasons. For example, if the prosecutor thinks he has a weak case, he might accept a guilty plea to a lesser charge. Or, as in this case, there may be an interest in not taking the case to trial, such as the protection of children. But do any of these reasons mean the prosecutor or judge should give a sex offender a "get out of jail free" card?
I can't imagine why the prosecution came up with this plea agreement. They should be protecting the public interest, not capitulating. But I'm even more disgusted with the judge, if the news article correctly represents the situation. Note that the article says the judge accepted the prosecutors' "recommendation". It doesn't appear that defendent demanded no jail time in order to plea guilty.
The article states that Love could have been given as much as a life sentence if he been found guilty at trial. I don't know all the facts and circumstances of the trial, but I do know that discounting a life sentence down to essentially no sentence is not a shining example of justice.
I hope the people who are upset about Scooter Libby let Judge Hall know what they think of her brand of justice at the next election.
[Note: Loretta Nall is more vocal than me (read her comments here), although I'm just as mad as she is.]
3 comments:
Don't worry.. sometimes justice is a two-tiered system. He will likely violate probation and end up serving his sentence. So he gets jail without having to put the kids through the trauma of a trial that they did not want
Maybe so, but why should another child be at risk so that will happen?
yeah, hopefully justice will be served after all. Unbelievable ANY man...much less a MINISTER (so-called) who was to be a beacon of hope to kids needing adoption..but instead turned out to be their worst nightmare, could do this to poor little boys. I hope he "accidentally" walks in front of the next cross-town bus running late. Sick "justice".
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