Some good news and bad news in the campaign to protect America's children from violent sexual predators: that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo".
New Hampshire Governor John Lynch says he will sign a tough new law that mandates 25-year minimum prison terms for felony child abusers. So, a tip of the hat to Governor Lynch.
The Granite State now goes into the purple category. Purple was Jessica Lunsford's favorite color. And those states are the ones getting tough on child predators.
But Massachusetts goes into the yellow category. That is, it is soft on child crime after one of the most outrageous sentences we've ever seen.
Robert Burns, a former Catholic priest, pleaded guilty to felony sexual abuse, including rape of five young boys. Burns had been convicted of child molestation in New Hampshire before this. So the guy's a serial offender.
Nevertheless, Judge Margo Botsford (search) sentenced Burns to eight to 11 years in prison, less than two years per child abused. Can you believe it?
Botsford did this, despite testimony from the five individuals involved that their lives were damaged forever. At sentencing, Botsford said, "I know there are those among the victims who wish I would impose the maximum sentence of life in prison. I am not going to do that."
So who is this Margot Botsford? Well, she's a liberal judge appointed by Michael Dukakis (search), who has consistently been soft on child predators. A few years ago, she gave a 36-year old man four to six years for raping an 11-year-old girl. Also, she sentenced a man who scorched his 6-year-old stepdaughter with an iron five to seven years. The Christian Science Monitor reports that Botsford said abuse is not always painful or unpleasant.
Now if five adult women had been raped by a man, you can bet Judge Botsford would have given the rapist far more prison time than eight to 11 years. So this begs the question. Are children not as important as adults in America?
The answer, tragically, is no, they're not as important. Margot Botsford is a disgrace to this nation. But believe me, there are thousands of judges like her sitting all across the country, people who believe the child predators should be given the benefit of the doubt.
Our Justice system is supposed to be based on fairness. The punishment must fit the crime. Less than two years in prison for sexually abusing a little boy? That's Botsford's view of fairness?
Come on, there's something very wrong here. Every American should become involved in our campaign to take power away from the judges and impose mandatory sentences on child predators.
Now we have some bumper stickers and decals available. This is not a profit thing, OK? Any money I get, I'm going to give right to abused children.
All right, they're available on billoreilly.com. And we hope you get them. Put them on your cars, your trucks, whatever, your house to raise awareness in your state of what has to be done.
The people must demand action to combat the likes of Judge Botsford. These kinds of shameful verdicts must end.
And that's "The Memo."
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
Here's a quiz question. Which Irish-American news analyst predicted that once gay marriage took root, it would open the door for other kinds of marriage? Hmmmmm, I wonder who that guy was?
In the Netherlands, Victor de Bruijn has married two women: Bianca and Mirjam. They did not give their last names and looking at this picture, maybe that was a wise decision.
Anyway, Holland says the three are free to marry. And why not? They look very happy together, although Victor does look a bit perplexed. Perhaps it is exhaustion.
Victor says the three are thrilled, but he will not allow a fourth person into the marriage, because that might be ridiculous. — We are not making this up! Told you...
—You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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