Ex-judge Herman Thomas on trial, accused of spanking inmates in underwear, sodomy and more

nydailynews.com ^ | Oct. 5, 2009 | Catey Hill

[Free ThinkerNY]

He was once a revered judge, an African-American Democrat repeatedly elected in an Alabama county that was predominantly white and Republican.

But then came the scandal - and Herman Thomas' world turned upside down.

Thomas, former Alabama Circuit Court judge, stands accused of sodomy, kidnapping, sex abuse, extortion, assault and ethics violations, AOL News reports. The trial starts on Monday.

The first charges against Thomas surfaced in 2001 when an inmate claimed that Thomas offered to help with the case in return for sex. Those charges were dismissed. But that wasn't nearly the end of it.

Inmates then began claiming that Thomas forced them to strip down to their underwear and then spanked them. Others claimed he forced them to perform sex acts.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Yep, guilty. Now when are the trials of the prison officials who were “checking out” these prisoners for trips to the judge’s office? This perp did not act alone.

[SC Swamp Fox]

Yes, I wonder why the NAACP doesn’t seem very concerned for the 15 black, male inmates that claim they were abused and sodomized by this former judge?

[Auntie Mame]

I suspect he's certainly guilty of multiple grooming and fashion felonies....

LOL! You've sure got that right. ; - )

[Canedawg]

I wonder why the NAACP doesn’t seem very concerned for the 15 black, male inmates that claim they were abused and sodomized by this former judge?

Very good point, my FRiend.

[blam]

Herman Thomas' cousin is quite a character too:

Thomas (President Of The Mobile Co. School Board) Among Those Indicted By Grand Jury

Thomas was indicted for leaving the scene of an accident with injuries and driving under the influence of alcohol.

The indictments stemmed from an incident during Mardi Gras earlier this year in which Thomas allegedly drove his vehicle over the foot of a 8-year-old paradegoer, then left the scene.

Earlier this week, Thomas, 37, was found guilty in Mobile Municipal Court of another case alleging he left the scene of an accident last summer.

[snip]

Later:

Thomas was fired from the schoolboard for wasting $9,000.00 of school money on Mardi Gras 'throws.'

[seekthetruth]

BUMP to the top of the page.

I hear-by challenge EVERY FREEPER who has not made a donation to Free Republic to make a donation of just $10 and see what happens to the Freep-A-Thon!

I would think that every Freeper could donate at least $10 to help keep FR up and running! :)

[Wuli]

In this case the NAACP support for the defendant seems to be a knee-jerk reaction and operating on a purely political - “unjust” - principle of simply defending the public image of “Black officials”, lest the chattering classes think a “Black official” can be as bad as anyone else.

I hope enough Blacks who are more local to the case simply diminish their respect for the NAACP, for it’s knee-jerk reaction in support of the defendant. They could have gotten more respect from everyone by taking no position on the case and publicly offering to let the trial speak for itself.