This is one of the craziest stories I’ve read in a while - a judge who does not believe in administering justice:
“Burlington, Vermont — January 4, 2005
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.”
Tags: [statutory rape, rape, crime, criminal, judicial, justice, judge, rehabilitation, Vermont]
SOUNDS LIKE THE JUDGE NEEDS REHABILITATION !!!
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I’m certainly not going to defend what this particular judge did, however I do want to take exception to your implication that punishment = justice and rehabilitation does not. That varies, I think, on a case by case basis. Although I think what’s most fair and most effective is some combination of both; that is, any sentence should have a punitive aspect and, except in the cases of the most egregious crimes (such as this), a rehabilitative aspect.
In fact, the only time we shouldn’t think about rehabilitation is if the criminal is never going to be free again. If he’s going to get released one day, then you have to do whatever you can to try to make him/her a better person when s/he leaves.
I completely agree with you. I believe there are times when rehabilitation is not needed, but is there ever a justification for there NOT to be any punishment for a crime? Certainly for minor infractions when someone does not have a record, I can understand warnings, but for egregious crimes such as this, the punishment must fit the crime. Plus, the purpose of punishment isn’t necessarily to curb a criminal’s behavior but simply that he/she must pay for his past behavior.
A judge is a judge - not a social worker or legislator. He must carry out justice, not pontificate on his personal beliefs about punishment.
Sexual crimes such as this, quite frankly, are generally the crimes that benefit the least from rehabilitation. These sexual crimes have the highest rate of recidivism.