Hereafter: Judge Will Issue Sentences Without Commentary
June 05, 2006
When Judge Kristine Cecava handed down a sentence, she would often talk to defendants. About their crime, their punishment, how they might turn things around in life.
Those days, says the district judge from Sidney, are gone.
She has been catching hell statewide and nationally because she slapped ten years of intensively supervised probation on a guy convicted of sexually touching a then-13-year-old girl. During her explanation of the sentence, she referenced the slight, physical stature of Richard Thompson. He is 50, 5-1 and about 125 pounds.
Citing his poor mental health, and his size, she expressed concern for his ability to function in prison. His crime did not involve rape, and psychological tests and background checks indicated he was not a pedophile.
That's why the roof caved in on her.
She became known, in headlines and on talk-radio programs where she was vilified, as the softie judge who let a child molester avoid prison because he was short. The initial stories said nothing about her references to his mental condition, the strict terms of monitoring in the probation, the 30 days he would spend in jail every year – the fact that she referred to his size "made" the story.
Signatures are being gathered on a petition calling for her resignation. Locals plan to file a complaint with the Commission on Judicial Qualifications. There have been protests at the Cheyenne County courthouse.
The uproar over Thompson's probation also led to some reporting on the sentences generally given to sex offenders – and it showed that probation is not uncommon. The attorney general is appealing the sentence – ad the local prosecutor who went along with it has joined the appeal.
"One of every five people currently serving Nebraska sentences for child sexual assault is on probation - not in prison. In fact, one of every three people sentenced for sexual offenses in Nebraska is on probation," the Omaha World-Herald reported.
In a separate interview, Cecava said she would now limit her comments at sentencing to nothing more than that required in guidelines from the state Supreme Court.
The uproar over Thompson's probation also led to some reporting on the sentences generally given to sex offenders – and it showed that probation is not uncommon.
One of every five people currently serving Nebraska sentences for child sexual assault is on probation - not in prison. In fact, one of every three people sentenced for sexual offenses in Nebraska is on probation.
***This story shocked me a judge bases her sentence on how an offender will or will not be able to handle punishment...........something is so wrong with this picture. :???: