What should happen?

[SFG75]

Story:

22 year old man impregnates 14 year old girl. They then tell her parents and he gets a job and marries her in the state of Kansas. The attorney general promises to prosecute him and there is a vocal minority who state that he is only doing so for political reasons and that punishing him will only hurt the family.

Clickety

A lot of people have been flooding the papers with letters to the editor. A lot of people believe that since the attorney general is up for re-election, he chose to really stick it to this guy who got the girl pregnant. I'd buy that except for the fact that he has no opponent. Not only that, it's clear that while he may have political ambitions, the need to crack down on this issue isn't as *political* as say...the death penalty.

So...was an 18 to 30 month sentence too harsh given the fact that he has taken responsibility for this issue? Is the fact that both of them are of limited intelligence an item to consider when it comes to laws like this?

A little snippet:

The girl’s mother gave permission for the couple to get married across the border in Hiawatha, Kan., after the girl became pregnant. People must be at least 17 before they can marry in Nebraska, but Kansas does not have a minimum age restriction on marriage as long as both parents or guardians approve or it is approved by a district court judge. If only one parent approves, the judge must approve, as well.

In July, Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning brought the charge against Matthew Koso, making headlines across the country. Bruning faced criticism for filing the charge because the sex apparently was consensual and the two eventually married. He defended his move saying his office had an obligation to protect Nebraska’s children. He did not make a recommendation on sentencing.

“Protecting our children is one of the most important things we do," Bruning said in a statement. "Nebraska law is clear that a 22-year-old man cannot have sex with a 14-year-old child, regardless of whether or not it’s consensual.”

I raise this topic as we've discussed something along these lines previously, but evidently, some pruning has taken place.

 

[steffee]

I think the sentence was too harsh.

I don't really know the whole politics aspects, but what good is it going to do that poor girl now? He was taking responsibility and her family were behind them, so 18-30 months (or even any length of custodial sentence) was too harsh, I reckon.

 

[MonkeyCatcher]

I agree - this is one instance where I think that the sentence was a bit heavy. He was taking responsibility for what he did - it must show that he has at least a little bit of character.

 

[SFG75]

Good comments Steffee & MonkeyCatcher. You know, there are different degrees of punishment if you kill someone. If you do so randomly in a parking lot or if you accidentally back into somebody. The same thing should apply here as obviously he has taken a great degree of responsibility. How many men of his age don't take responsibility!?. By nailing him on this, what's the message to those young men who actually desire to make a bad situation right? Not only that, but both of them were of limited mental capacity. HELLO!, to me, age is of secondary importance as their understanding of the law is somewhat...I don't know....lessened.

 

[abecedarian]

Where are you getting that this couple is of diminished intelligence? I don't recall seeing that in my paper's coverage. Anyway, I believe they followed the law (KS law anyway) and are legally married. Once the girl's mother signed that paper and they were legally married, it is no longer the state's business what they do in private. In the case of Nebraska's law, I feel they are overstepping their boundaries when they interfere with a married couple. In this case, I feel the state would have served this family better by mandating counciling and a mentoring program for this couple. Taking this young man away from his wife and child, and his job only does harm. Also, he now has a criminal record which will haunt him his whole life, making future employement opportunities difficult to come by.

 

[SFG75]

Can't remember where I read that, the only thing I can find about it was from the link which hints at it.

Yoesel, seemingly in an attempt to diminish Crystal’s status as a victim in the case, said she, and not Matthew, was the more mature partner in the relationship.

“He’s 23, (but) his level of maturity is much lower than his age,” Yoesel said.

On the other hand, he said, “Crystal is quite mature. In many ways (she is) in control of the relationship.”

 

[ruby]

This is very sad really as its so obvious this young couple are in love.
And this man did the right thing by this young girl as in making her his wife.
The sentence is far to harsh,i feel really sorry for them.

 

[SFG75]

To me, punishment should help the person refocus their attention on what they did wrong and provide a good example for others. I guess that I fail to see how either of these things is accomplished by putting him in jail. Would probation and mandatory counseling not have worked? This guy didn't have a criminal record before, though he did pursue under-age girls according to the article. What is it that is supposedly set right here?

 

[abecedarian]

My guess is this case came up at a time that best suited someone's political agenda. This young man is being made an example to thwart other young men from pursuing underage girls. Somehow I doubt this tactic will have much affect I'd love to ask Loretta Lynn what she thinks about this issue.

 

[SFG75]

My guess is this case came up at a time that best suited someone's political agenda. This young man is being made an example to thwart other young men from pursuing underage girls. Somehow I doubt this tactic will have much affect I'd love to ask Loretta Lynn what she thinks about this issue.

And like I said, what is the message to a young man who wants to do as this guy did and make the situtaion right? So, if a young man acknowledges that he is the father, marries the girl, and then proceeds to get a job, then he goes to jail!? Oh yes, it's better if he doesn't marry her, stays under-employed or unemployed, and then forces the rest of us to pay for it in it's infancy, not to mention later in life as the criminal justice system will need funding for when the father isn't around and the kid rebels. Yep, we got things figured out.

 

[abecedarian]

And like I said, what is the message to a young man who wants to do as this guy did and make the situtaion right? So, if a young man acknowledges that he is the father, marries the girl, and then proceeds to get a job, then he goes to jail!? Oh yes, it's better if he doesn't marry her, stays under-employed or unemployed, and then forces the rest of us to pay for it in it's infancy, not to mention later in life as the criminal justice system will need funding for when the father isn't around and the kid rebels. Yep, we got things figured out.

And someone, I think the NE prosecutor(not sure exactly, please check) said that it looked like marriage was the answer for this couple, but that he didnt' think that was good enough. Yes, the letter of NE law was violated, but I think the state of NE sent a horrible message to otherwise responsible young men. I thought "we" wanted to promote families, and responsible parenting. This couple made a mistake, and were trying to move towards maturity, but the state chose to go in with a bulldozer, instead of a VW. I'm sure this young man with learn to be a responsible family man while he's in jail

 

[SFG75]

And someone, I think the NE prosecutor(not sure exactly, please check) said that it looked like marriage was the answer for this couple, but that he didnt' think that was good enough. Yes, the letter of NE law was violated, but I think the state of NE sent a horrible message to otherwise responsible young men. I thought "we" wanted to promote families, and responsible parenting. This couple made a mistake, and were trying to move towards maturity, but the state chose to go in with a bulldozer, instead of a VW. I'm sure this young man with learn to be a responsible family man while he's in jail

Interestingly enough, the Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal-Star had front-page articles about the A.G. testifying about his entanglement with a man who broke state campaign finance laws in running for the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A.G. Jon Bruning is facing re-election and his spat on this issue with the judge is quite interesting. If you are some guy of no political means or money, you get prison. If you are a candidate, I guess you can work behind the scenes to save your neck. Go figure.

 

[abecedarian]

Interestingly enough, the Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal-Star had front-page articles about the A.G. testifying about his entanglement with a man who broke state campaign finance laws in running for the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A.G. Jon Bruning is facing re-election and his spat on this issue with the judge is quite interesting. If you are some guy of no political means or money, you get prison. If you are a candidate, I guess you can work behind the scenes to save your neck. Go figure.

I always knew there was a reason why Justice wears a blindfold

 

[SFG75]

I always knew there was a reason why Justice wears a blindfold

I'm not saying Koso was innocent and that taking advantage of a 14 year old is excusable, but I guess I just really see something not right here. How Regent Hergert can keep his seat without so much as a word from Bruning is beyond me. If Bruning runs for senate, he can definitely plan on the democrats nailing him on this in the future. I for one, won't forget.

 

[abecedarian]

I'm not saying Koso was innocent and that taking advantage of a 14 year old is excusable, but I guess I just really see something not right here. How Regent Hergert can keep his seat without so much as a word from Bruning is beyond me. If Bruning runs for senate, he can definitely plan on the democrats nailing him on this in the future. I for one, won't forget.

I agree this young man deserves some sort of punishment, but I hate to see his case being used by politicians to further their own ends..namely swaying elections. In this case, I think justice would have been better served if the sentence had been more appropriate to the case. Give him probation and court ordered counciling. It still stays on his record, but he is able to maintain a job to support his family. I'm sure the state of Nebraska has enough people on public assistance already.

 

[SFG75]

Looks as if Bruning has escaped the fire himself. Clickety

I'll have to move down there to escape this lunacy.

 

[abecedarian]

You're more than welcome to move to Kansas, we always need more teachers teachers who actually read. But you oughta know we have our own little teen sex legal drama underway:

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/13836622.htm