2068 The judges who don't believe in punishment

Judge Edward Cashman doesn't believe that punishment works for men who rape children, so he gave Mark Hullet, 34, 60 days for sexually abusing a child for three years. Story here. He's right, it doesn't work in the sense of changing or reforming sex offenders, so let's keep them away from children and warehoused in prison for the rest of their days. Expensive? You bet. What is your daughter's life worth? Safety of the general population should also be a factor in sentencing. Just a guess, but I'm betting Judge Cashman thinks registration of sex offenders is an invasion of his privacy and a violation of his civil rights.

Here in Columbus, Ohio we've had a similar case bubbling on the back burner, but all the neglect and screwy sentences happened before the most recent crime. The man was sent to prison in 1997 for rape of a child and released in 2004. Since his 2004 release he:

1. was returned to prison for 100 days for leaving the state

2. failed to register as a sex offender

3. was arrested for driving under suspension

4. was jailed on parole violation

5. was picked up for stealing a car

6. was charged with felony theft and sent to jail for 3 days

7. was sent from jail to a hospital because he was "acting strangely'

8. was released from the hospital and then kidnapped and raped a 15 year old in a vacant apartment complex

9. which was in violation of city code so it had been shut down; it had six security guards on duty to keep out vagrants, drug dealers and the criminal element; the previous firm the owner hired had quit due to lack of payment from the owner

10. and he [the rapist] had been living in one of vacant apartments where he'd taken the child.

This is a very large net of incompetency. You'd need more than two index fingers to point and blame. Let's hope the rapist gets a judge who understands that our citizens need some protection, and that short of a miracle from God, this man is not going to change through the criminal justice system.

Judge Edward Cashman
sex offenders