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NEW: Send an Email to The Vermont Governor
Demand Judicial Accountability for:
Judge Edward Cashman - Protect the
Rights of Children - Stop Child Abuse!
Click
Here to Send Your Email in Support of Children's Rights
________________________________________________________________
IMPEACH JUDGE EDWARD
CASHMAN
Petition to Impeach Vermont District Court Judge Edward Cashman
WHEREAS, Vermont District Court Judge Edward Cashman is
allowing a child rapist who confessed to repeatedly raping a
six-year-old girl over a four-year period to go free in sixty
days, and
WHEREAS, Judge Edward Cashman remains an immediate threat
to the children of the State of Vermont, and
WHEREAS, the actions of Judge Edward Cashman provide
sufficient grounds for impeachment for his disregard of the law
by no longer willing to administer justice through punishment
for such heinous crimes, and
WHEREBY, the legislature has the power to impeach judges
under the Vermont State Constitution,
THEREFORE, I hereby petition the Vermont legislature to
take the necessary steps to have Judge Edward Cashman impeached
for violating his oath of office to uphold the Vermont State
Constitution by his willful disregard of law and justice.
______________________________________________________
MONTPELIER, VT---Talk of impeaching District Court Judge Edward Cashman is rampant in Vermont and perhaps the nation after he imposed a minimum 60-day sentence for a convicted child molester who admitted sexually abusing a six-year-old girl for over four years.
Cashman said that when he first became a judge 25 years ago, he pronounced tough sentences but that now he thinks that such "accomplishes nothing of value".
In a court proceeding last week in Burlington, Cashman sentenced Mark Hulett, 34, to only 60 days in jail for two counts of aggravated sexual assault and a lessor charge following a guilty plea.
Hulett reportedly has the mental maturity of a 12 to 14 year old with an IQ of about 80. According to court records, the incidents occurred while Hulett was visiting the home of the victim who was about six years old when the molestation began and it allegedly continued over a period of four years.
In sentencing Hulett, the 62-year-old Cashman said that the best way to protect the public was to give him sex offender treatment. However, the state corrections department determined that he was not a high risk offender and found him ineligible for in-prison treatment. Human Services Secretary Michael Smith has now ordered the state corrections department to reclassify Hulett and provide sex offender treatment to Hulett in jail. Cashman had said that if in-prison treatment was provided to the molestor, that he would sentence him to a minimum of three years incarceration.
The 60-day sentence contained conditions following his release that if Hulett failed to complete sex offender treatment following his release, it would result in him being resentenced to prison for life. The victim's family had requested a long prison term for Hulett.
Cashman said tough sentences "doesn't make anything better, it costs us a lot of money, we create a lot of expectations and we feed on anger". He said that the "one message I want to get through is that anger doesn't solve anything. It just corrodes your soul…..I've got to do something that solves a problem. That people are better off after sentencing than they were before".
Cashman is getting the message that people aren't happy with the way he handled the sexual assault case and are calling for his impeachment although state officials say it's unlikely because of the "very high standards" for impeachment.
A spokesman for the Governor says that a judge can't be removed for a poor decision, only for a serious breach of law or ethics. Published reports say that Vermont's House of Representatives is considering a non-binding resolution seeking Cashman's resignation.
Vermont's governor Jim Douglas has already received more than 20,000 emails, phone calls and letters opposing Cashman's light sentence. The Governor said that if Hulett doesn't believe in punishing criminals for their acts, then he should resign. "When a grown man rapes a small child, justice is only served when the criminal is behind bars _ for a long time _ paying for his inexcusable crime," the Governor said.
Cashman's term expires next year and he would be subject to a retention hearing when his job performance is evaluated. In that Vermont's judges are appointed by the Governor and the Governor has already called for Cashman's resignation, it's unlikely the Governor would reappoint Cashman for another six-year term.
Prosecutors had sought to have Hulett sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison and say that Cashman's sentence was illegal and should be withdrawn.
Chittenden County prosecutors filed a motion for reconsideration Friday saying that "this court's sentence must consider and include punishment for the defendant's action in repeatedly sexually assaulting this child. Regardless of the sincerity of the court's belief, it was not legally authorized to reject 'punishment' as a sentencing factor. Unfortunately, this is what the court did", the motion said.
It is unknown when Cashman will issue a ruling. If he does agree to reconsider the sentencing, Hulett could withdraw his plea and go to trial.
In a memorandum written last week, Cashman said that he was "aware that the intensity of some public criticism may shorten my judicial career. To change my decision now, however, simply because of some negative sentiment, would be wrong".
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