Why Liberal Is A Dirty Word To Me

I've given examples before. Here's another--and before you say that I am falsely accusing this judge of being a liberal, read his reason for giving a 60 day sentence for repeatedly raping a child:

There was outrage Wednesday when a Vermont judge handed out a 60-day jail sentence to a man who raped a little girl many,many times over a four-year span starting when she was seven.

The judge said he no longer believes in punishment and is more concerned about rehabilitation.

Prosecutors argued that confessed child-rapist Mark Hulett, 34, of Williston deserved at least eight years behind bars for repeatedly raping a littler girl countless times starting when she was seven.

But Judge Edward Cashman disagreed explaining that he no longer believes that punishment works.

"The one message I want to get through is that anger doesn't solve anything. It just corrodes your soul," said Judge Edward Cashman speaking to a packed Burlington courtroom.

...

Judge Cashman also also revealed that he once handed down stiff sentences when he first got on the bench 25 years ago, but he no longer believes in punishment.

"I discovered it accomplishes nothing of value;it doesn't make anything better;it costs us a lot of money; we create a lot of expectation, and we feed on anger,"Cashman explained to the people in the court.

"It doesn't make anything better?" Except that it guarantees that, while in prison, this guy won't rape any other children.

"it costs us a lot of money": It sure does. What does he think it is going to cost to provide counseling for this child to deal with being raped? I've talked to more victims of child molestation than I can count, and the one thing that I know is that when advocates call child molestation "soul murder," they are often not far off. The damage done is huge; many victims end up destroying themselves and everyone around them, dealing with the shame.

As recently as 2004, Judge Cashman was singing a different tune:

The Attorney General’s Office announced today that Keefe L. Beattie of Johnson was sentenced to the State’s recommendation of twenty years to life to serve for the brutal murder of Margaret May. Ms. May was murdered in February of 2001 at her home in Johnson, Vermont where she had been providing respite care for Keefe Beattie. In sentencing Beattie, Judge Edward Cashman stated that the crime was both cruel and arbitrary and that the sentence imposed was necessary to ensure public safety.

What? No concern about costs? About not making anything better? Or does Judge Cashman just not have a problem with raping children?