At a time when we have mandatory minimum laws putting people busted for drug possession in prison for 5-10 years or more, how about this story about a cop in San Diego - a cop who operated a website telling parents how to protect their kids against predation on the internet - who has been convicted of possessing child pornography and of soliciting phone sex and naked pictures from a teenage girl (after he convinced her he was 16 years old). What is his punishment? How about 30 days of community service and probation. Oh, but if he violates his probation he could get one year in jail. And this was imposed over the objections of the DA, who thought that he should have received a whopping 240 days in jail. Has this judge lost his mind?
Hat tip to Rogier van Bakel.
Make child porn, get probation. That's crazy.
I decided to hunt around for other decisions by the judge in that case and one thing I found is that he apparently does favor the legalization of marijuana:
Two points, the first tongue in cheek and the second real.
The first, regarding
...how about this story about a cop in San Diego - a cop who operated a website telling parents how to protect their kids against predation on the internet - who has been convicted of possessing child pornography...
I am somehow reminded of a comment several years ago from Peter LaBarbera, currently of the Confused Women of America (real name: Concerned Women for America, but most of the Concerned Women seem to be men). Several years ago, LaBarbera was the Family Research Council's point person on anti-gay issues. He admitted to having lots of gay porn in his office--for research purposes. Um, that not only strains credulity.... Research purposes?
The second and more serious point. Throwing people in jail for drug possession and drug dealing? This is nothing more than another extension of the prison equivalent of the US's military-industrial complex. In Europe, they treat drug abuse as a public health problem. In the US, they treat it as a prison issue. Why the difference? In the US, prisons are a growth industry for private companies.