Posted on 01/26/2006 12:49:13 PM PST by flutters
BURLINGTON, Vt. Jan 26, 2006 — A judge who was widely vilified for giving a child molester a 60-day jail term imposed a new sentence Thursday, increasing the man's prison time to three to 10 years.
Judge Edward Cashman said he felt he could now impose the longer sentence because the state had agreed to provide treatment to the man while he is behind bars. The state had initially said such treatment would not come until after the man served his time.
Mark Hulett, 34, pleaded guilty to charges that he had sexual contact with a girl during a four-year period beginning when she was 6.
At the original sentencing, Cashman said the best way to ensure public safety was to get Hulett out of prison so he could receive sex offender treatment. Because the Corrections Department concluded that Hulett wasn't likely to reoffend, he wouldn't be eligible to receive sex-offender treatment until he reached the end of his jail term.
After Cashman announced the initial sentence, Gov. James Douglas called for the judge to resign and several lawmakers suggested he be impeached.
Douglas said Thursday he considered the new sentence to be too lenient.
"It's 18 times 60 days, so it's certainly an improvement," said the governor. "Personally I think it's inadequate for a crime of that magnitude, but it is certainly better than the first decision."
In his order Thursday, the judge remained firm in his original belief that sentences must be concerned with more than just punishment.
"The court agrees a punitive response punishment is a valuable and necessary component of society's response to criminal conduct," he said. "It is a tool that the court has routinely used for the past 24 years on the trial bench. As stated during the sentencing hearing, however, punishment is not enough of a response in some cases.
"This is one of those cases," he said.
Attorney General William Sorrell had also hoped for longer than three years, but he praised the judge for making the change. "I would have rather seen it be a longer sentence as a message to other would-be offenders, but I think Judge Cashman is big enough to change course," he said.
Unless they make him watch O'Reilly every night.
Faint praise in my estimation. The judge passed an idiotic first sentence, then through pressure passes an almost as idiotic second sentence. The guy is worthless and should be removed from office next year.
But, how much does anyone want to bet; the fix is in and the judges relenting has given the governor reason to retain him. Time will tell!
In ten years the child will still be under age. Doesn't anyone get it? He needs to double the sentence.
Truth.
I wasn't aware that a sentence could be changed once it had been handed down. That just doesn't sound right.
"three to 10 years"
STILL not enough. Give him life for what he did to that child.
Ten years with forcible observance of Helen Thomas sunbathing, every day, for ten years.
And then a further ten years beingforced to watch the worst of the American Idol 'singers'.
And then another ten being forced to exercise 'the lads', runnig from dogs between the fence rows to keep them in shape.
Thirty years total, in which he should expire in the first five.
The judge can reconsider and change the sentence but usually doesn't.
Ten years in general population should be just about right.
So far so good. Treatment should be making him do his time with pictures of Helen Thomas in his cell. That should guaranty a cure beyond anyone's expectations.
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