DA proposes mandatory prison sentence for sexual-assault crimes

Posted by Kathleen Hohalek
a resident of Menlo Park: The Willows
on Jun 23, 2016 at 12:34 pm
Kathleen Hohalek is a registered user.

Although I too was extremely displeased with the slight sentence by Judge Aaron Pesky in the recent rape trail, I do not agree with mandatory sentencing laws. As we now know long experience, most of the time discretion is well used by our judge, and mandatory sentencing often leads to ridiculously long, and harsher than necessary prison stays.

Posted by Two Wrongs
a resident of Menlo Park: Linfield Oaks
on Jun 23, 2016 at 1:20 pm

My dad always told me that two wrongs don't make a right. Just look how successful mandatory sentencing has been for curbing the use of illegal drugs. Not.

What happened in that Stanford sexual assault trial was a travesty of justice, but imposing mandatory sentencing is an emotional rather than a rational, strategic response. The majority of judges are thoughtful and adept at applying the rule of law balanced with common sense. But judges are humans and this particular judge is a throwback -- an old white guy who grew up in an era of "boys will be boys" and young ladies shouldn't be out partying. He should be sanctioned without tying the hands of every other thinking judge.