Judge Says Man Too Small for Prison

[ButterflyBlood]

A judge said a 5-foot-1 man convicted of sexually assaulting a child was too small to survive in prison, and gave him 10 years of probation instead.

His crimes deserved a long sentence, District Judge Kristine Cecava said, but she worried that Richard W. Thompson, 50, would be especially imperiled by prison dangers.

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PRISON_TOO_SHORT?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

[Dogmudgeon]

1. PEDO FRENZY!

(Sometimes I feel like a certain Senator Blutarsky.)

:popcorn:

--p!

[life_long_dem]

2. WTF??? How tall is KKKarl?

Hopefully tall enough to qualify for a prison sentence...

[Mojambo]

3. I don't quite understand

Don't they have provisions to keep guys like this out of general pop?

[electron_blue]

4. Two counts against the same 12 yr old child

And from his pic, I'd say he looks almost 5'2". What is the cutoff for jail, btw?

Link with more info about the case:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/unusual-tales/too-short-for-jail-sex-offender-gets-probation/2006/05/26/1148524854545.html

[Kagemusha]

5. He probably would die in prison.

A lot of people just don't care.

I'm sure a lot of people - not me, but a lot of people - will simply say, that's not a valid sentencing consideration. For the purpose of sentencing, the prisons are 100% safe. So the decision must not stand.

[wakeme2008]

6. The Judge is crazy

This is the part that gets me

"Thompson will be electronically monitored the first four months of his probation,"

WHY NOT ALL TEN YEARS...... shiiiit

[WildClarySage]

7. ITA- if he's to be kept safe, let him be incarcerated SOMEWHERE

so that people are safe from him.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

36. I agree!

Martha Stewart was incarcerated in her home...Why not this guy?

[shanti]

38. safe from HIM

exactly! he deserves more compassion than his victim?? what an asshole decision. :(

[mrcheerful]

8. That didn't stop michigan from putting the disabled into prisons.

In fact they stuck handi cap stickers on 30 cell doors in each prison then denied a prisoner that didn't come into prison in a wheel chair a single man cell. In other words, until prison doctors declare a person handi- capped many are put into cells with non handi-cap prisoners. It takes at least a year to see a doctor on handi-caps, then 3 to 4 months after the doctor prescribes a single cell that said prisoner gets it. I have a cousin that is a MDOC guard and he was saying how the majority of handi capped prisoners were mis-treated in the system.

He said it was amazing that paraplegics can find the strength to pull themselves out of a wheel chair and walk up to 100 yards to molest a child. One of the prisons he worked for had 3 people in wheel chairs who were paralyzed from the waist down that got out of their chairs to chase kids down. :crazy:

Edited to add......Handi cap prisoners allow the state to charge the feds twice the amount to house handi cap prisoners then non handi capped prisoners. Noy yhat handi capped prisoners get any better treatment or any special considerations, they are treated the same as any other prisoner, except for handi cap stickers and another prisoner to help get the person to chow, make beds or clean the cell.

[lindisfarne]

9. Pedophiles are especially mistreated in prison - in part because

there are enough people in there who were abused as children.

But I disagree with the judge - being short doesn't absolve you of a crime. (We're putting minors in adult prisons, for gods sake).

"Thompson will be electronically monitored the first four months of his probation, and he was told to never be alone with someone under age 18 or date or live with a woman whose children were under 18. Cecava also ordered Thompson to get rid of his pornography.
He faces 30 days of jail each year of his probation unless he follows its conditions closely.
"I want control of you until I know you have integrated change into your life," the judge told Thompson. "I truly hope that my bet on you being OK out in society is not misplaced.""

At the very least, he should be monitored for the entire term of what his prison sentence would have been. What in the world is this judge thinking? The recidivism rate for child molesters is high - it's unlikely he won't offend again.

[mrcheerful]

11. Myth. The only ones that care are guards and inmates, convicts don't care

what someone else did to get into prison, all they care about is getting through the day, alive. Short time inmates are the ones who cause trouble, not just for sex offenders but for everyone because they try to play at being a tough con, they usually end up with new cases of assult and get more time added to their sentences. Most of the lifers and long time convicts avoid conflict for the simple fact of getting put into a higher security level with less perks. You really need to take what you see on TV about prisons with a grain of salt, prison life is not any more different then living in the bad side of town, you follow the rules and your left alone. BTW, theres only one set of rules to follow, the convicts rules of conduct. :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: for everyone watching.

[lumberjack_jeff]

14. Fact

My brother was a "counselor" (the real guards called them "pervert babysitters") at McNeil Island. In Washington, sex criminals considered at risk of reoffending would be locked away, long after their terms were served. They called this "special committment". Because of the political risks, no one was ever released from this program, and the "patients" (they weren't really inmates) knew that in reality they were lifers.

The general population of the prison frequently attacked the residents. Unfortunately, since my brother was only a counselor (non-inmate residents at the prison don't have "guards" per se), his only defensive tool was a radio. Even more unfortunately, if he radioed that one of the residents was being attacked, the guards were always less than prompt about responding.

More than once, the guards "accidentally" set up the conditions where the two populations mixed - with predictable, and to the guards, apparently amusing results.

[mrcheerful]

15. BS

[lumberjack_jeff]

21. Gee, thanks. But perhaps you can elaborate?

Or perhaps not.

:eyes:

[mrcheerful]

27. Yeah I been inside of michigan prisons helping set up AA meetings

I've seen conditions inside of the prisons as well as having first hand accounts from both convicts and guards.

BTW, for your information if you'd bother to check you'd find out that convicts can and do have legal contacts outside of prisons where they can stop the kind of abuses your talking about. After all, why do you think GW didn't house detainees in american prisons, its a no brainer because convicts do have rights to humane treatment. Which is why no male guards are allowed in any female prisons where female convicts dress and undress in the state of michigan. The conditions you say are happening in would be a direct violation of prisoner rights and convicts can and will sue prison officials over such gross violations.

Another fact about prisons, most sex that goes on in prisons involve convicts and guards. Theres a lot of myths about prisons 99% of them are put out there to scare people from going to prison. Number one problem with prison is boredom. Which is why I say BS, because of guard/convict fraternization guards are rotated every 3 to 4 weeks from unit to yard to fence patrol to guard tower duty. Every 5 to 10 years guards are rotated from prison to prison.

BTW the top 3 things that get convicts harmed is 1) snitching 2)lying about what your in prison for 3) gang activities. The major 2 problems dealing with prison violence is 1) gangs and 2) short timers, short timer = less then 5 years.

Most of what you hear about prisons are stories blown out of whack. Another fact about cons, once outside of prison con's brag about how tough they were, which is part of why prison myths abound. Also don't forget guards will also brag about how tough they were to work in a prison. Then there our friends MSM who try to scare all of the good law abiding citizens how dangerous prisons are.

But again it depends on what level prison one is in. The most dangerous one is level 5, max security. Then level 4, level 4's are allowed a radio, 2 hours yard time twice a day, the rest of their time is spent in lock down. Level 3, thats where they send the mentally insane. Level 2, cons are allowed a radio, a 12" TV, And a keyboard type writer as well as street clothes, they also get 4 hours of yard time twice a day. Level 1, same as level 2 except you get a work pass to work outside of the prison. Every level is earned, not given, which means 2 trips to isolation your level goes up by one, assault charges against other cons or prison staff the level can go up as far as the prison staff deems necessary for the protection of other cons and staff members.

Again, prisons do not provide street clothes, radios, TV's or cable, those things come out of the prisoners account $0 means you don't get a thing. So don't get on the that isn't fair kick, tax payers do not pay for a prisoners cable or any other goods prisoners can buy from the prison store or a store catalog.

[lumberjack_jeff]

29. 1) the people in question were not inmates

They were in special committment, theoretically under the protection of DSHS. I know nothing about Michigan's jail system, but I do know that there was major animosity toward "the rapos" from both the guards and the prisoners.

2) They did sue, and the state was enjoined to provide more than just a head fake toward treatment. (These are people who have served their sentences)

http://www1.dshs.wa.gov/hrsa/scc/default.htm

Short of abu ghraib style abuses, it was about as bad as it could get.

[mrcheerful]

31. Actually one of cali's prisons did something worse, they were pitting

rivel gang members ( human dog fights )They would take a member from each one of the gangs and put them in a cell with a rivel gang member, then bet on who'd win. Everyone from warden to every guard were fired and got time for their involvment.

Edited to add a story one of my AA cons told me about.

There was a guy in cell block d in housing unit 4 who was in prison for CSC 2nd degree. One of the other prisoners took it upon himself to torment the CSC guy. After 6 months of daily harrassment, one of the jail cell lawyers, ( a con with a working knowledge of law )Dug up the tormenters record. He found out the tormenter was doing life without parole for the murder of an 7 yo and 8 yo. He was doing a drive by shooting on a revil gang and mistook the two kids sitting on their porch for gang members, both kids were shot in the face with a 12 gauge shot gun. When confronted with his crime all he said was "well, at least I didn't leave them alive to suffer".

[Le Taz Hot]

26. Not myth

I've been told by countless inmates that pedophiles get, er, "special" attention from the other inmates -- it's why they don't put child molesters in GP (General Population) but place them in PC (Protective Custody). The reason is not only that many of the people who are in prison were molested but most have children themselves and feel the ped could just as well be molesting THEIR kids.

[mrcheerful]

30. They lied, See post 27. They wouldn't risk good time or level increase

for what someone else did to get put into prison. I'm not saying they wouldn't avoid sex offenders or bad mouth them, but anything outside of that puts them at risk. An assault charge against another prisoner is an automatic 5 year sentence added to the one they are already serving time for, plus all of your good behavior time will be taken away. Plus an assault charge could land them in a max security prison. You forget in todays age theres cameras watching every move a prisoner makes 24/7 which means guards no longer have to wittiness an attack. BTW did these cons tell you that if a female guard walks by their cell and catches them masturbating the prisoner is brought up on CSC charges after the second time they are caught?

[Le Taz Hot]

39. So the 100's of them that told me that

are ALL lying. Not to mention the correctional officers and parole agents who told me the same thing. Uh huh. I believe you over them. Right.

[wicket]

35. Not the way I heard it from a friend's father who did time in San Quentin

n/t

[bigworld]

10. ... and The Smoking Gun is there with pics

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0525062shorty1.html

[CATagious]

12. this man is obviously...

below the Law!

:rofl:

[pepperbear]

13. JUST IN CASE NO ONE ELSE HAS SAID IT YET...

"YOU MUST BE THIS TALL TO SERVE"

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[orleans]

16. the judge needs to be dethroned

she obviously has no concept of what effect a sex offender has on a child--and the long term/lifetime effects that result

when this man acquires another child victim can the child's parents go after the judge in a civil/criminal suit?

what are the parents of this current child doing about this sentence??

too short? too bad! let the prison deal with it--put him in the extra short wing or some crap--but he needs to be in jail.

[WhoDaThunk]

17. I agree

It really makes my blood boil to see this judge characterize that child molestor as 'not fitting the category of a hunter.' Wha???? She doesn't see something predatorial and dangerous about someone convicted of TWO counts of molesting a 12 year old?

My liberal knee will only jerk so far. I have sympathy for marginalized segments of the population, but enough's enough. He's short. Tough shit. I'm short, too. Just a hair taller than the pervert in question, as a matter of fact. That man is big enough to inflict damage on a hell of a lot of people-- namely children. He belongs in jail.

I agree that future victims should be able to face the judge in court. I also think the man should get to live next door to the judge for the duration of his 10 year probation.

[slackmaster]

23. Does anyone have the recipe for tar and feathers?

The judge must go.

[bling bling]

18. This may be the most outrageous thing I've ever heard.

Based on the headline when I clicked the link I expected to see that the man was 3 feet or something. Even then, if you're tall enough to do the crime you're tall enough to do the time.

But 5'1? This judge is protecting poor shorty by sending him BACK into society without him having been punished AND putting children into harms way.

Sick sick sick sick sick.

I wish they would throw this judge in jail, because she's a threat to society.

[BrotherBuzz]

19. He's tall enough for everything at Disneyland

I say give him an 'E' ticket and send him to prison.

[KansDem]

22. LOL! My thought exactly...

Are we going to start erecting signs outside of our prisons that read, "If you are not this tall (show a line), then you cannot come in here."

On a lighter note: aren't you dating yourself with the reference to the "E" ticket? (Ahhh, the coveted "E" ticket--the most prize possession of many 10-year-olds at D-Land). Didn't D-Land do away with those tickets in the 1960s and go with a "one admission price for all rides?" I remember coming home from D-Land many times during those years with a whole pocket full of "A," "B," and "C" tickets, having redeemed the "D" and "E" tickets early in the visit. Thanks for the nostalgic memories...
:hi:

[shadowknows69]

24. This is sure to set off a "little people" crime wave

any day now.

[Bassic]

20. God dammit, wtf was this gal thinking?

I just can't believe this. "It's wrong to commit crimes, unless you're short. Then we'll let you off." Jesus Christ, this is unbelievable.

[dysfunctional press]

25. beware of rampaging midgets!!!

they were all just given a "get out of jail free" card.

[Zynx]

28. How about at least a mental hospital for the rest of his life.

He's a sick bastard.

[OKthatsIT]

32. WOW...Let's hire midgets to 'off' Congress...LOL

This is really wild!

[Blue Diadem]

33. and that says what to that little girl? She was too small too..

Who protects her from the dangers of the sickos?

[WildClarySage]

34. If we're afraid to put criminals behind bars

because they aren't safe enough places to be, and they do deserve safety, then the answer is not to keep them out of jail but to make prisons safer.

[MikeStl]

40. Exactly.

I do agree with him that it may very well be too dangerous for him in prison. I think it is too dangerous for everyone. If he is not being sentenced to death then he should not be given a death sentence. Prisons need to be made safer. I think the reason they aren't is becuase people don't care for some reason. People suck at times though.

[AngryAmish]

37. His arms are too short to box with God

[happydreams]

41. Another success story for the vertically impaired! Yeeehaah!

Who says being a runty little pervert doesn't have its benefits?

[sweetheart]

42. prison, the universal solution to dissent

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1283288&mesg_id=1283288