Setting Dangerous Sex Offenders Free

Setting dangerous sex offenders free — that is the subject of this evening’s "Talking Points Memo.”

New York Governor George Pataki has ordered 12 violent sex offenders held by the state after their prison terms were completed, citing the state’s voluntary commitment law. Pataki says the men have been evaluated by state officials and found to be too dangerous to walk the streets.

The ACLU, predictably, wants the men released. And Tuesday, Judge Jacqueline Silbermann ordered the sex offenders to be set free pending more evaluations from court-appointed doctors.

The situation is troubling because many of the 12 are brutal individuals who received little jail time for their crimes. New York is the worst state in the union when it comes to sentencing, punishing violent sex offenders.

Convict A raped a three-year-old boy, inflicting internal injuries on the child. He served three and a half years, if you can believe it. Three and a half years.

Convict B sexually abused three girls who were 10 years old, two were 10 years old I should say, the other 12. He got six years.

Convict C raped a boy, this convict, repeatedly, over a three-year period beginning when the boy was 10. The rapist got two years.

All of these men and nine others could be released because of Judge Silbermann’s order. The judge will tell you she’s just following the law, but the law is open to interpretation. Her order will be appealed by the state, which believes it’s upholding the law.

What is not debatable and what Judge Silbermann surely knows is that most of these 12 convicts are dangerous and didn’t receive fair sentences. There’s no excuse for sentencing a child rapist to two or three years in prison. The judges who do that damage the child and his or her family even more.

This is why Jessica’s Law is needed in all 50 states. We can’t count on judges to protect children from violent sexual predators. We have to have mandatory minimums.

If any of the 12 felons Judge Silbermann has ordered released hurts any child, I will hold that judge responsible and report the case to you immediately. It’s long past time for the good people of this country to demand that criminal punishments fit the crime and people who stand in the way of that be removed.

New York Assemblyman Sheldon Silver has single-handedly blocked tough laws against child predators for seven years. Why is this man still in office? His district is dramatically left wing, but even these people have to realize the destruction Silver is causing.

Governor Pataki will appear with us Thursday. And we hope you urge the governor of your state to pass Jessica’s Law. You can do that by going to billoreilly.com.

And that’s "The Memo."

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

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