Thursday, November 14, 2013

Alabama man, found guilty of raping child, may serve no jail time

While I generally argue for leniency, this sentence seems absolutely absurd. Raping a 14 year-old child is not a "non-violent" offense.
An Alabama man convicted of raping a teenage girl will serve no prison time. On Wednesday, a judge in Athens, Alabama, ruled that the rapist will be punished by serving two years in a program aimed at nonviolent criminals and three years of probation....
Limestone County Circuit Judge James Woodroof sentenced Clem to 10 years in prison for each of the second-degree rape charges and 20 years for first-degree rape. But Woodroofstructured the sentence in such a way that Clem will only be hit with community corrections and probation. Clem will have to register as a sex offender and pay fines and restitution—a total of $2,381, according to the sentencing document provided to Mother Jones—but he will not serve jail time unless he violates the terms of his sentencing.

On Wednesday, attorneys for the state questioned whether Clem's sentence was even legal. Andrews asked Woodroof to reconsider the sentence, she said, to no avail. "The judge still chooses to send him home to his three little girls," she said. "I don't understand that. I can't fathom that."
Totten notes that had Woorfood sent Clem to prison with that sentence, Alabama statutes would have required Clem to serve more than 20 years before he would be eligible for probation. In light of that, Totten says, a stint in community corrections was more appropriate. However, AL.com noted that Alabama statutes would have allowed Woodroof to hand down a shorter prison term.

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