Quest for justice = hits cruel reality

Quest for justice hits = cruel=20 reality

By Boston Herald Editorial=20 Staff | Monday, June 30,=20 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com/&nb= sp; | Editorials<= /A>=20

We understand the passion behind = the campaign=20 for Jessica=E2=80=99s Law and minimum 20- to 25-year sentences for = anyone convicted of=20 raping a young child. Frankly if we could defy the Supreme Court and = send every=20 child rapist to the gallows we=E2=80=99d be just fine with that.

But the cold reality is that rigid mandatory minimum sentences in = cases=20 involving vulnerable child victims could make it less likely that a = predator=20 will spend a long stretch behind bars. That is a fact recognized by the = state=E2=80=99s=20 11 district attorneys and the attorney general, who support a modified = version=20 of Jessica=E2=80=99s Law.

And it was actually the point that Rep. James Fagan (D-Taunton) was = trying to=20 make on the floor of the House a few weeks back. Perhaps if he = hadn=E2=80=99t been=20 foaming at the mouth and striking terror into the hearts of parents it = might=20 have come across as something less than a wildly inappropriate rant. You = know=20 what they say, =E2=80=9Cwith friends like these . . .=E2=80=9D

Fagan notwithstanding, the fact is that the mandatory minimum = sentences=20 contemplated in the original legislation would remove prosecutorial = discretion=20 and encourage every defendant to take his chances at trial.

Child victims would be forced to take the stand, a traumatic = proposition on=20 its own, and to undergo a potentially brutal cross-examination that = could be as=20 traumatic as the assault itself. If they aren=E2=80=99t up to any of = that - or if there=20 is insufficient evidence to corroborate the victim=E2=80=99s claims, = which prosecutors=20 say is common - chances are the attacker walks.

The modified legislation would impose mandatory minimum sentences for = repeat=20 offenders, for those who are in a position of authority such as a = teacher or=20 clergy member, and in cases where the assault is aggravated by use of = drugs,=20 alcohol or a weapon.

But it retains for prosecutors the ability to negotiate a plea deal = if the=20 case against a defendant is made weak by a reluctant victim or lack of=20 evidence.

The House has passed the revised bill and it is now before the = Senate. If=20 someone can come up with a way to ensure that Bay State trial judges - = several=20 of whom have contributed to the alarm over sentencing with their gentle=20 treatment - understand the proper way to treat a convicted rapist, well, = we=E2=80=99re=20 all for it.

But the original bill, while its intent is to lock rapists up and = throw away=20 the key, could in fact have the opposite effect.

Article=20 URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/editorials/view.= bg?articleid=3D1103997=20

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