Saturday, August 31, 2013

Things that seem too horrible to be true

A couple of stories caught my attention this week. I just saw mentions of them on various websites and thought I must be mis-reading or mis-understanding because these are too horrible to possibly be true.

Sadly, they are not.

The first story:

 

Montana judge won't resign over 30-days-for-rape ruling


Now that can't possibly be true, can it? A judge giving a rapist a 30-DAY sentence? Not 30 years, 30 DAYS?

But yes, that's exactly what seems to have happened.
How does this judge justify giving a slap on the wrist to a rapist?

In 2007, a Montana teacher named Stacey Rambold raped a 14-year-old girl who later ended up committing suicide. On Monday, Baugh gave him 15 years in prison for his crimes — but suspended all but 30 days of that sentence. And when arguing the case, Baugh noted that the 14-year-old girl was acting “older than her chronological age” and “as much in control of the situation” as the 49-year-old teacher who raped her.


A 14-year-old girl was just as much in control of the situation as the teacher who raped her? When has a 14-year-old kid ever been in control of any situation? Much less a situation involving an adult, and an authority figure at that?

Montana District Judge G. Todd Baugh reads a statement apologizing for remarks he made about a 14-year-old girl raped by a teacher in Billings, Mont., Wednesday Aug. 28, 2013. But Baugh defended the 30-day prison sentence given to the teacher as appropriate.
(AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

The Montana judge has defended his sentence, however, saying that he believes Rambold is at a low risk of becoming a repeat offender
.

Well, sure, now that he knows he might have to spend an entire month behind bars, I'm sure he won't make that mistake again!

Well, I assume that this defendant's history must have been in some way reassuring to Judge Baugh that he was not likely to again break the rules, right?

The prosecution entered into a “deferred prosecution agreement” with Rambold after Cherice’s death — which means the charges against him would have all been dismissed if he had successfully completed a sex-offender treatment program and met other terms, like avoiding contact with children.                                                But he broke some of those terms, and that’s why his case ended up before Baugh.



Jeezus Christ! He couldn't even follow the terms of his sex-offender program, terms that would have allowed him to get away scot-free, and you think he's not likely to re-offend?

As of this writing, some 41,000 people had signed on to a petition demanding Judge Baugh's resignation. Personally, I don't think he should be given the option to resign, I think he should be frog-marched out of the courthouse, tarred, feathered, and run out of town on a rail, but if you're interested, you can sign on here: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/resign-judge-g-todd-baugh.fb29?source=c.fb&r_by=817567


Story # 2:

Mother accused of torturing daughter takes witness stand



 
 

Carri Williams is accused of beating and starving her 13-year-old adopted daughter to death in May of 2011.

Williams described how the young girl was not given meals as punishment, and detailed the final moments before she found the child's lifeless body in her backyard.

The day Hana died, prosecutors say she was banished to the back yard. It was raining hard, and the family found her unconscious in the mud a short time later.

"My daughter was completely naked, and just her shoulders and head were on the patio face down," Williams said. "Her face was completely flat in the mole hill."

Although Hana died of hypothermia, there were other contributing causes to her death, including severe malnutrition and chronic gastritis, doctors said.


This monster left a naked 13-year-old girl outside in the rain. There are no words.

She used boot camp methods for discipline, and on numerous occasions forced Hana to sleep in a shower, nursery closet, and a barn for stealing food.
Stealing food? STEALING FOOD? You're her mother, you're supposed to give her food! She is entitled to food and shelter at a bare fucking minimum from her parents. If you are withholding food from your daughter, you are the one committing a crime, you sickening piece of shit.

The Williams' other children told investigators that Hana sometimes was beaten with a switch for standing more than 12 inches away from where she was told to stand or for speaking without permission.
And of course Carri Williams  did not act alone. No, of course there is also an adoptive father who is no less a sub-human cockhole.

When asked by an attorney what he felt most responsible about, Larry Williams replied: "I'm the dad... my daughter died... possibly I could have done something to stop it. And I didn't."
Oh, "possibly?" You "possibly" could have done something? Your number one responsibility in your entire fucking life is to protect your children. It's not like your daughter was kidnapped and murdered in some secret location beyond your control. It happened in your home. You and your wife are completely responsible you murdering piece of shit.


Now, when first I read this, I immediately thought "religious fanatics." No one would torture a helpless child to death unless they were doing it in the name of the Lord! Well, sure enough:
A witness told investigators that the Williams got their ideas for the disciplinary measures from a book, "To Train Up Your Child," which recommends switchings with a plumbing tool, cold water baths, withholding food and putting children out in cold weather as forms of punishment, court documents say.


Of course. of course they did. I don't know what is worse, the fact that these two monsters murdered this little girl or the fact that there is an instruction manual for how to do it. And of course, it's a religious-based book.

To Train Up a Child: Michael Pearl, Debi Pearl: 9781892112002 ...

www.amazon.com › ... › Christian LivingFamily


I looked at a little bit of this book on Amazon, as much as I could stomach. They suggest placing tempting objects somewhere that a crawling baby can reach them, then smacking their little hand when they grab for it. It's sick! Of course, they claim to be following God's example. They say that God planted the one tree Adam & Eve were forbidden to touch in the middle of the Garden of Eden so that they would be tempted to touch it, and could therefore be trained not to touch it, which , if I remember the Genesis story worked out not so great.
It's pretty fucking insane.

You know, it's one thing for some insane couple to embark on a program of child abuse and murder, we've become sadly accustomed to hearing such tales of horror, but this book. . .
First, these two scumbags have to sit down and write it, then they have to submit it to a publisher. Editors, publishing assistants, I don't know how many layers of management have to read "how to torture a helpless child" and say "yes, this is the sort of book our publishing house should put its name on."  Then bookstore owners and mangers have to say "yes, this is the sort of child-murdering book I would be proud to have on my shelves!" How can this happen? It just seems all too horrible to be true.

P.S. If you want to read a good summary of this horrible horrible book, check it out here: http://awfullibrarybooks.net/train-up-your-child/