Too often in the news we hear of a horrible crimes against children or adolescents, committed by corrupt individuals that makes us so uncomfortable, we turn the channel in hopes of forgetting it. While it would be great to just put our heads in the sand and believe that this is not an issue that concerns us, the awful truth is that one of these individuals could live in your neighborhood, or work at your childs school, rather than spending the rest of his days in prison. There is a new theory of justice in the court room which I believe is the reason we hear an increasing number of stories regarding perverse crimes against children. This theory is called "Restorative Justice," and it's becoming more and more prevalent in many states.  The thought behind restorative justice is that these criminals have a "disease" which causes them to commit horrible acts, and to truly achieve justice we must nurture rather than punish, to cure the offender. This is why we hear of serial sex offenders who have been released by authorities after only serving minimal sentences.

    In Bill O'Reilly's book, Culture Warrior, he recounts a recent court case in Vermont. Mark Hulett stood before the court and Judge Edward Cashman.  Hulett admitted to raping the daughter of friend that he babysat several times a week.  Hulett told authorities explicitly what he had been doing to the 10-year old little girl for the past 4 years.  As the guilty child rapist stood before Judge Cashman, the family of the young girl were expecting a life sentence.  Instead, the "honorable" Judge handed down a sentence of 60 days to 10 years in prison, only 60 days of which, he actually served.  Why? So the rapist could get treatment outside of prison.

    Here are a few more unbelievable examples of crimes that could have been prevented by proper sentencing, found on BillOReilly.com. 

'In Rhode Island, 18-year-old Josh Maciorski was convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl, but sentenced to probation. Two years later he molested a 14-year-old girl and served just one year. Then, when he got out, Maciorski raped a 16-year-old girl. His sentence after this third strike: an unbelievable three years in prison."

"In Missouri, 19-year old Darrell Jackson pleaded guilty to repeatedly sexually abusing a little girl, beginning she was just eight. But when Jackson came up for sentencing, a soft judge gave him four months in prison and five years probation."

"In Minnesota, Joseph Duncan stood in front of a judge, accused of molesting a young boy. Despite the fact that Duncan had previously served 16 years for raping another young boy at gunpoint, the judge released him on just $15,000 bail. Duncan promptly skipped bail and headed for Idaho, where he allegedly kidnapped, raped, and killed a 9-year old boy, molested his sister, and killed their family." 

    Sadly, we lack any ability to foresee and put a stop to these evil acts before they happen.  However, we can be proactive, and hold our elected officials responsible (this includes judges) to push for some version of Jessica's Law.  "Jessica's Law"  refers to The Jessica Lundsford act,  which was passed in Florida, after the young girl was abducted, sexually assaulted, and then brutally murdered.  This law requires a minimum sentence of 25 years and a maximum of life in prison, for first-time child sex offenders. Read more on the Jessica Lunsford Act. 

    There is no doubt in my mind that this is a step in the right direction.  We need to rid our neighborhoods of, and protect our children from these malicious individuals.  Unfortunately, less than half of the United States have some version of "Jessicas law," and many are either uninformed, or are heading in the wrong direction regarding this issue.  For a detailed map of these states, see www.billoreilly.com/outragefunnels.

    I urge you to contact your Governor and voice your opinions regarding this important issue that could affect you and the ones you love.  Remember, your elected officials are paid with your tax dollars and it is there job to hear your concerns.  If you don't believe this affects you, take a moment and look at some of the information on the website familywatchdog.us. Here you can find out how many registered sex offenders are living in your neighborhood.  You can also look at how many have been convicted and are not registered.  Remember, this a battle for the safety of our children.  To contact you state governor, find your state below, and make your voice heard. 

Good luck and best regards,

Jake Weaver

 
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