Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
remember that affluence a case where a rich teenager
was involved I believe it was in killing
one or two people while drunk driving and a judge basically said listen
because and this defense attorneys argued because it how he was brought up
in this super rich
family where he didn't really understand that his actions might have consequences
we can't really punish him too harshly I have a new story for you that's even
more ridiculous
and it's about a Superior Court judge who sentenced
and air to do the do pot fortune to only probation
listen to this for raping his own
three-year-old daughter what was the explanation well
he wouldn't farewell in prison
suggesting that he instead get treatment
instead of time behind bars according to Delaware online the raping his daughter
came to light
back in December of 2007 when the girl
who was 5 at the time told her grandmother
that Richards had sexually
abused her the grandmother Donna Berger said the girl reported that her father
told her it was quote
our little secret have you ever heard anything this creepy
but said that she didn't want my daddy to touch me
anymore the girl said her father molested her in the bedrooms are both
her mother
and brother in their home and the court records show that judge Jan jerdon
sentencing order for Robert H
Richard the fourth say that she considered
some unique circumstances when sentencing him
up for fourth-degree *** by the way and her observation was that prison life
listen to this would adversely
affect mister richards it would adversely affect
mister richards yeah when you *** but a five-year-old
and you go to prison it's not expected to be this
wonderful experience and we can have a conversation which we have all the time
about the effectiveness about our prison system about the
revenge aspect of our prison system the disproportionate application have
harsher penalties including the death penalty
towards minority and poor defendants we can talk about all those things
but all else being equal this guide not being sent to prison because as a super
rich guy he wouldn't do well there
is completely extra-judicial
and ridiculous and it only further confirms that we have to legal systems
to justice systems in this country
one for the rich and one for everybody else right and these
the statements from from the judge year make it seem like
every other person who Bay sent to prison
was not adversely affected well that's exactly the point that's made by
Delaware public defender Brendan O'Neill Lewis who says
it's extremely rare that prisons service
any inmate well how is that all of a sudden a reason not to send mister
richards there
yeah I you know when I'm sure if we could do to research
at some point died there was a talk up some lofty financial transaction here at
a
I can only imagine I don't know either is there anybody
in our audience who can make the argument that if mister richards were a
poor guy
with no money for defense attorneys from the bad part of town
maybe not white not just throw that in there although if you're already poured
and then you what you already have strikes against you in the in our legal
system
that he would still be having just probation can anyone honestly make that
argument I certainly can't if you think that's the case
email I would love to hear the logic from you