Cashman Connection?

This is a partial transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," January 27, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

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BILL O'REILLY, HOST: Be careful what you wish for. That is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

One of the reasons cited by Judge Cashman for giving the rapist, Mark Hulett, a weak sentence was Cashman's concern for Hulett's rehabilitation.

The "Factor" has learned that Cashman is a believer in the restorative justice theory. That is also embraced by far left radical George Soros.

Joining us now from Oregon to explain the theory is Joshua Marquis, the Clatsop County district attorney and vice president of the National District Attorney's Association.

A pleasure to have you on here, Mr. Marquis.

Thanks for talking about this, Bill.

O'REILLY: Yes, what is this, deal?

JOSHUA MARQUIS, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, CLATSOP COUNTY: Well, restorative justice sounds real warm and fuzzy. And I think most people would agree. If you've got a teenage kid, who does some vandalism, you know, make him do some community service and apologize.

But this goes far beyond that. George Soros, through the Open Society Institute, believe that we need to, quote, "reduce reliance on prisons." So he and some other liberal billionaires have poured tens of millions of dollars in the so-called restorative justice movement, which centers frankly in Vermont and Minnesota.

Restorative justice is the official policy of Vermont, since 2000.

What's alarming is that Judge Cashman is not as much of a rogue as we'd like to think. But he really tipped his hand when he said he didn't believe in punishment. Because that's sort of the key of restorative justice.

They believe that punishment is bad. That retribution has no place and that we basically ought to just hold hands -- and I mean that literally -- have sentencing circles with people all the way up to very serious crimes. And that by doing that we will simply restore them to the community.

O'REILLY: Do they want to actually bring crime victims and criminals together?

MARQUIS: Oh, absolutely. They call it Victor-Offender Reconciliation Programs.

And they have a place, a very limited one, but these people are going far beyond it. And what's spooky is they have permeated corrections facilities and the National Judicial College where Judge Cashman taught restorative justice. And judges all over the country are beginning to parrot -- some judges -- this idea that punishment is bad.

These people actually say -- they use a word called at atherogenic justice. And that's a medical term that means the disease caused by treatment.

And their position is the disease is punishment. And that what we're doing is we're actually harming people by punishing them. So the way around that is not punish them at all.

O'REILLY: So this Cashman thing is all about in Vermont is a philosophy that's been embraced byGeorge Soros, the radical billionaire who's involved in all kinds of secular progressive movements trying to change the country.

You don't think that Cashman doesn't know Soros? You know, he just got caught up in this because he liked it. Do you think he knows the big picture here and what's going on?

MARQUIS: They don't hide. They believe this stuff. And so it's not exactly, you know, conspiracy stuff. It would be inconceivable that he wouldn't know the full penalty of what restorative justice is all about.

And like I said, it's insinuating every where. And the irony is what's worse in this country is that many states, about 30 of them, have gotten tougher laws.

O'REILLY: All right.

MARQUIS: The mandatory three strikes. It works. You have less crime.

O'REILLY: Oh, absolutely. I mean, we're hoping Oregon does it. And we're going to take another look at Oregon.

MARQUIS: We have to give them mandatories.

O'REILLY: Yes, because a couple of politicians are blocking it there.

So you said Vermont and what's the other state that just restored it?

MARQUIS: Minnesota is...

O'REILLY: Minnesota?

MARQUIS: Minnesota is the other big state.

O'REILLY: These are the two that have adopted it as a policy or a philosophy?

MARQUIS: No, as a policy. And actually there may be more states, but Minnesota and Vermont are really the hubs of this.

O'REILLY: All right. So their punishment is not good. You've got to try to heal the criminal, rather than punish the criminal for the misdeed.

MARQUIS: By integrating the criminal into the community. And it's the idea that the victim is really no higher up in a value system than the criminal. In other words, we're all equal, which is, of course, nonsense. Because they're nicer than criminals.

O'REILLY: The abused person's rights are not put above the rights of the abuser. The little girl's rights are no more than the rapist's rights?

MARQUIS: That's what it comes down to.

O'REILLY: George Soros, Edward Cashman, restorative justice.

Mr. Marquis, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

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