A memo to Minnesota Judge Thomas Schroeder (search): that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo".
Dear Judge Schroeder, please allow me to fill you in on Joseph Duncan (search), the man you allowed to post $15,000 bail and walk out of prison. In 1979, Duncan stole a car. In 1980, he raped and tortured a 14-year old boy in Washington state, for which he served 16 years in prison. During that time, he told authorities he had raped 13 other young boys — thirteen!
The year 2000, Duncan now out of prison, registered as a sex offender, judge, in your neighboring state, North Dakota. Four months ago, Duncan came before you, sir, charged again with molesting little boys. And instead of keeping him locked up, you allowed him to walk out on low bail, even though you knew his criminal history, according to The Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Duncan then skipped bail, traveled to Idaho where he allegedly murdered four people, including a 9-year old boy. His 8-year-old sister was found with Duncan when police arrested him. The little girl says she was sexually brutalized for weeks by Duncan.
So my question for you, judge, is why are you still sitting on the bench? Why haven't you resigned? These terrible crimes are on you, sir. How can you show up for work?
Judge Thomas Schroeder owes every American a detailed explanation for his conduct. We are waiting. But the shame of the nation isn't Judge Schroeder. It's that we allow him and other judges discretion in sentencing child sexual offenders.
This is simple. Every state in the union should have Jessica's Law (search) passed by Florida in the wake of the brutal slaughter of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. That law gives child sexual offenders 25 years in prison first offense, period. Second offense: life. No judge can screw that up.
There is no excuse not to pass Jessica's Law in all 50 states. No excuse. But only a few states have embraced the concept.
Here are the states that send child sex offenders to prison for 10 years or more, first offense. Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia.
If your state is not on that list, raise some hell. Call your governor's office. Send a message. Every state must get tough on the likes of Joseph Duncan and take the power away from the likes of Judge Thomas Schroeder. If not, your kids will never be safe.
One last question. Would you allow your 6-year-old to play on your front lawn unattended? Think about it.
And that's "The Memo."
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
My policy on this broadcast is to ignore gutter snipes and charlatans, and I wish I had instituted that policy a long time ago. But once in awhile I just can't help myself.
As you may know, we get hammered from extremists on both the left and the right, which tells you something. Apparently, the radio guy Michael Savage (search) is telling his listeners that our ratings on TV and radio aren't good. This, of course, is a huge lie, as we are extremely successful in both venues, thanks to you.
Now Mr. Savage is angry because no responsible media outlet will put him on the air, precisely because he doesn't tell the truth, which of course, is ridiculous.
Check out USA Today's ratings charts for that report if you want to know the numbers. There they are.
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