VT: Second man charged with abusing Hulett's victim (Judge Cashman has 10 days to change verdict)

Boston.com ^ | 1-14-06 | AP

[cgk]

We are in the very days when evil is considered good and good is considered evil,

Unfortunately, true. We see it more and more these days. I am having trouble trying to figure out how to tell my 3 year old there are no monsters, when in fact, there are, and they look just like us.

[litehaus]

'Hanging Judge?'...NO! Hang THE Judge.....

[cgk]

The Constitution of the State of Vermont:

OATH OF ALLEGIANCE; OATH OF OFFICE

§ 56. [Oaths of allegiance and office]

Every officer, whether judicial, executive, or military, in authority under this State, before entering upon the execution of office, shall take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation of allegiance to this State, (unless the officer shall produce evidence that the officer has before taken the same) and also the following oath or affirmation of office, except military officers, and such as shall be exempted by the Legislature.

The Oath or Affirmation of Allegiance

You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will be true and faithful to the State of Vermont, and that you will not, directly or indirectly, do any act or thing injurious to the Constitution or Government thereof. (If an oath) So help you God. (If an affirmation) Under the pains and penalties of perjury.

The Oath or Affirmation of Office

You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will faithfully execute the office of _____ for the _____ of _____ and will therein do equal right and justice to all persons, to the best of your judgment and ability, according to law. (If an oath) So help you God. (If an affirmation) Under the pains and penalties of perjury.

[hershey]

The victim will carry this around in her head for the rest of her life unless she gets longterm therapy. Even then, she's lost her innocence, her childhood, her sweetness. She harbors intense feelings of anger and hate and will strike out at some point, probably against someone trying to help her...because subconsciously, she'll know that's 'safe'. Her life will just go downhill. The judge should be making sure this kid gets state-paid therapy for as long as she needs it.

[wildbill]

Going by his past reasoning, the judge will probably give this guy only 30 days since the girl wasn't a virgin any longer when he sexually assaulted her.

[SuzyQue]

Apparently mom's and dad's elevators don't go all the way to top floor. Real Parents of the Year material by Vermont standards.

I've thought about this quite a bit. I understood that the parents are of very low intelligence (and I'm going to guess that they were "in the system" before they had a child). If CPS had come in early on and taken this child from her parents because of their low IQ being a potential impediment to giving the child what she needed, there would have been screams of injustice from many corners. Parental rights being violated, governmental interference, discrimination,a woman's right to..., etc.

I don't know what the answer is, just wondering what should have been done differently from the beginning. God help that child, and may she have some peace and happiness when this is settled.

[Betty Jane]

I finished the Justice Cooperative about a month ago. It was a great story, and yes, I could see something similar coming about. The idea that judges and the entire system are letting animals get away with crimes and the public has to put up with it will tilt some people to take matters into their own hands.

I like the way your plot was set so the good guys could get retribution with little chance of being caught.

[GOPPachyderm]

Geraldo was on O'Reilly show and I believe I heard it mentioned that the little girl's parents are retarded. Today it was mentioned that the perp has an IQ of 80.

[Itzlzha]

Is it wrong for me to wish someone imposes their own "justice" on these 2 monsters, who raped a 6 year old girl until she was 10, and finds themself before another judge who rules that they acted because the law did not protect them, as it is supposed to by the Constitution... case dismissed?

Not as long as you include the damned Nazgul sitting in judgement in that "justice"....

[Young Werther]

Wy can't Judge Hulet be charged with accessory after the fact?

[who knows what evil?]

Here's an exerpt from today's Valley News, serving White River Junction, Vermont and Lebanon, New Hampshire:

Hartford Lawmaker Faults Media in Firestorm Over Vt. Judge Montpelier -- A key Republican legislator said yesterday that much of the furor that has surrounded a judge's sentencing of a convicted child molester could have been avoided if the media had done a better job reporting what the judge had done.

A few notes of interest: follow this link to the Valley News . Notice, that although this story is above the fold, at the very top of the paper, the Valley News has NOT provided a link to their website so you can read this particular story, even though it has generated a national interest. If you scroll down, you will notice there ARE links to other stories; none of which hold a candle to the relevance of the Cashman story. Coincidence? yeah, right. (They want to make DAMN SURE on-line readers are able to read the entire editorial calling for the REJECTION of Judge Alito, however. Fancy that.) In addition, notice that they have dug up a quote from a REPUBLICAN stating that the (right-wing) media has blown this all out of proportion. That quote from a REPUBLICAN is making the rounds on the newswires. This is done DELIBERATELY...they are trying to associate REPUBLICANS with Judge Cashman in the minds of their readers.

The brainwashing continues.

[teenyelliott]

I heard on the news last night that Cashman gave this guy a suspended sentence. 60 days then out. If he re-offends he has to serve the rest of his sentence.

WTF? If he permanently damages another child, then he gets punished. This judge is willing to bet the life of another child.

He should be in jail for aiding and abetting.

[who knows what evil?]

I agree, but you would be shocked at the number of people around here who "don't see what the big deal is"...the judge just wants to give the rapist a chance at rehab. Fortunately, I am heading back south in a few months.

[teenyelliott]

That is unfathomable. Do these people care so little for their children?

Pedophiles NEVER stop. They cannot be rehabbed.

The only cure for a pedophile is a bullet to the head.

[Mark was here]

The victim's parents were aware that Hulett had an interest in the girl and that the two, on some occasions, slept in the same bed, court documents said.

Sounds like the parents were pimping the little girl. I would let the johns in this case go free in exchange for the parents getting some quality time in the electric chair.

[snugs]

If she has been taken into care they are going to have to be so careful where she is placed.

Unfortunately those abused often tend to be abused whilst in care especially if at a care home also as they get older they often turn into abusers themselves.

This poor child has suffered so much and unfortunately will carry these scares emotionally for the rest of her life. I pray that she does not continue to be abused either physically or emotionally but IMHO the odds are not good.

[HHKrepublican_2]

And my guess is that the Teacher Student things. (The Student was 16 i believe) Was not forced.

[VA40]

It seems to me that Cashman has some personal reason to be sympathetic to the molesters, if you know what I mean. Last night, while watching Animal Cops, my ten year old asked me how it can be that someone who abuses an animal can get up to a year in prison, while a man who hurts a child for years only gets 60 days. My daughter is smarter than this judge. I think HE is a pedophile. Anyone checked NAMBLA to see if Cashman is a member?

We've been suspecting the same thing. Maybe it's time someone looked "behind the curtain". Something is just Wrong.

[Steveone]

I wonder if they mentioned the 20,000 E-Mails the Vt Governor got asking for the judges head!

[Candor7]

This from the Caledonian Record's Editorial

www.caledonianrecord.com/pages/editorials/story/6a764cc3f

The Wrong Solution

Saturday January 14, 2006

Following the cat fight between the Corrections Department and Judge Edward Cashman that Cashman claims led him to sentence a serial child molester, Mark Hulett, to 60 days in jail, Michael Smith, Human Services Secretary, has announced that Corrections will offer Hulett sex offender treatment. Smith hopes that Cashman will relent and resentence Hulett to more jail time.

That's the wrong solution. Hulett molested a 6-year-old girl for four years before he was caught. Cashman's sentence of 60 days in jail is a monstrous miscarriage of justice. Hulett sentenced the little girl to a lifetime of trauma at what he did to her. There will not be a day of her life when she doesn't think about it with revulsion. Meanwhile, Hulett will be on the street.

Smith's attempt to coerce Cashman into relenting is a day late and a dollar short. What it does is confirm that a Vermont judge can act as Cashman did with absolute contempt for the girl, her family, and the oldest tenet of the law, that the punishment should fit the offense.

The right solution is that Cashman should be cashiered. He has displayed an arrogance and an inhumanity that totally disqualify him from ever sitting in judgment again. The only way that Vermont can recover its judicial dignity in the eyes of the world and of Vermonters is to flush him out of the system. We call upon Gov. Douglas, Speaker of the House Gaye Symington, and Senate President Pro Tem Peter Welch to make his removal their first order of business immediately.