Judge James Woodroof
Posted on 01/01/2014 12:30:28 PM PST by Innovative
A north Alabama man convicted in a series of rapes has again avoided a prison sentence for the assaults.
Limestone County Circuit Judge James Woodroof suspended a 35-year sentence for Austin Clem and ordered him to spend five years on probation for a series of assaults on a former neighbor.
Clem was convicted of sexually assaulting the woman three times. Prosecutors say the assaults began seven years ago when the victim was 13.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
The insane are running the asylum folks
Freegards
LEX
“The insane are running the asylum folks”
It’s even worse than that — criminal sympathizers are sitting as judges...
Hang him, he serves no time, everybody is happy (I think, I may be bad counting and comprehending that whole ‘everybody’ thing)
Very uninformative article.
A well-written article would have summarized the judge’s reasoning behind this sentence. This is assuming such reasoning was included in the verdict, which is possibly an unjustified assumption.
Without an explanation of his rationale, this is simply a “gotcha” article for the judge and the convicted, providing only one side of an issue that MAY be more complex.
Don’t forget the judge.
I did some checking, and apparently somehow the perp here is eligible for a non-violent offenders program that, if I read it correctly, redirects offenders not likely to repeat their offenses to probation and supervision. How this guy managed to qualify for *that* is beyond me.
Also, I found a very good recap of the story over at Mother Jones, and a blog that has some useful info:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/11/alabama-man-no-prison-time-raping-teenager
What a mess.
There doesn’t seem to be any extenuating circumstances, only a rapist-sympathizing judge. The man was found guilty by a jury
From another article:
“As ordered by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Circuit Judge James Woodroof Jr. agreed to resentence Austin Smith Clem on first-degree rape and two counts of second-degree rape.
“Woodroof filed his revised order Monday, giving Clem 15 years for first-degree rape and two 10-year sentences for second-degree rape — a total of 35 years. However, the judge suspended the prison time and gave Clem credit for time already served in the county jail — 66 days. He also ordered Clem to serve 5 years of supervised probation on each count of rape. If he violates the terms of probation, the judge could reinstate the 35 years of prison time. Clem was also ordered to register as a convicted sex offender, pay $1,631 in restitution and a $750 bail bond fee. He must also maintain a job, complete counseling, have no contact with the victim or her family, pay court-ordered fees related to probation and comply with the other conditions of his probation order. The revised sentence reduces Clem’s sentence on first-degree rape from 20 to 15 years in prison, which the district attorney immediately opposed. -
"You didn't hear the evidence," Totten says. "The original allegation was that both of these crimes were forcible. But then you have to believe that although she was forcibly raped twice, she continued to come back and have a social relationship with Austin Clem and his family—until he told her that he was going back to his wife and child and would not have a relationship with her. And a week later he was charged. There's always two sides to the story."
The girl was 13 when the first two rapes occurred, which as I understand the law means it doesn't matter whether the sex was consensual or not.
The reasoning above would seem to be more suited for the trial phase, whether he was actually guilty of rape or not, rather than the sentencing phase.
The jury already decided guilt or innocence. The judge isn't supposed to then issue a lenient sentence because he seems to think the convicted isn't "really" guilty of the charge.
Clem was convicted of sexually assaulting the woman three times. Prosecutors say the assaults began seven years ago when the victim was 13.
The only alternative for him serving prison time should be hanging till dead...
Very strange story. The programs he put the guy into are apparently for “non-violent offenders,” which wouldn’t seem to be appropriate for someone convicted of three counts of rape.
Maybe the judge thinks it wasn’t “rape-rape.” But under the law that’s the jury’s job to decide, not the judge’s.
Are you suggesting that the judge be hanged or the perp?
“Clem was convicted in a series of attacks on a former neighbor that began when the now 20-year-old woman was 13.
Jurors found Clem guilty in September. The jury foreman has said he and other jurors expected Clem to serve some time in prison.”
The jurors found him guilty, but the judge did the sentencing, basically letting the child rapist go free.
Where are the Good Ole Boys of Alabama?
They would have dealt with this Rapist Scum.
Perhaps these softhearted judges saw Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and his pretense that the fees for not having health care insurance were 'really' taxes and thus constitutional. Making ObamaCare legal even though it takes away freedom from American citizens and allows the almighty government to dictate not only that we purchase health care insurance but what that insurance will cover and of course, the coming rationing of health care that is inevitable. But I digress.
This judge (Woodroof) is unfit for the bench if this is the kind of workaround he uses to help a convicted felon avoid serving jail time for raping a minor.
I would like to refer you to Sherman Logan’s post 11 — he sums it up quite well:
“The girl was 13 when the first two rapes occurred, which as I understand the law means it doesn’t matter whether the sex was consensual or not.
The reasoning above would seem to be more suited for the trial phase, whether he was actually guilty of rape or not, rather than the sentencing phase.
The jury already decided guilt or innocence. The judge isn’t supposed to then issue a lenient sentence because he seems to think the convicted isn’t “really” guilty of the charge. “
I should have said post 9 and 11 by Sherman Logan
Who is Clem related to? Must have ties to someone locally powerful.
Thank you, thank you very much.
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