News you can use
News you can use
It’s hard to argue with the National Organization for Women-Montana that Judge G. Todd Baugh’s rather lukewarm apology for his comments about a dead Billings teenage rape victim was lacking.
It seems like Baugh’s apology — very late in the game — was an attempt to save his skin, not to atone for his unbelievably poor judgment.
Baugh received national attention after he said in court that the 14-year-old, who was raped by her teacher and committed suicide later, was “older than her chronological age.”
He seemed to be blaming the victim for being raped.
He then sentenced the teacher to 30 days in jail, an unconscionably light sentenced for raping a student.
NOW-Montana, along with its sister organization in Pennsylvania, wants the state’s Judicial Standards Commission to remove Baugh from office because of his bias against women and Hispanics. The young lady was Hispanic.
While the case has been public and the allegations against the victim have received widespread attention, the Judicial Standards Commission will talk about the case in secret. So secret that we don’t even know when the commission will meet to talk about the case.
We hope that the commission meets soon and takes severe sanctions against the judge for conduct that most Montanans feel is reprehensible.
Reader Comments(4)
bigears writes:
In answer to the question posed to me by GetReal about if I really think that is what rankles these women, yes. Yes, that is why I took the time to write it. I do believe it. I answered you 2 days ago but that did answer not get posted. I wonder why? I doubt it if this one will be posted either. It's not politically correct, is it. Or is that being too abusive? Abusive must be the code word for not politically correct according to the censors at The Havre Daily News I suppose.
12/19/2013, 12:27 pm
Getreal writes:
...that rankles these women protesters.... That's what you think has triggered the.the outrage rather than the less than mandatory minimum sentence the perpetrator received from this outdated ignorant chauvinistic excuse foor a judge? Do you really think that?!? Wow.
12/16/2013, 3:44 pm
bigears writes:
The article says that Judge Baugh's comment implied that it was the girl's own fault for being raped. That is not how I read it at all. The meaning I took from his comment was that she must have been exposed to experience beyond the appropriate age for her. That suggests fault or carelessness on the part of her caregivers, not her. I believe it is this obvious suggestion on the guilt of her mother for not protecting her that rankles these women protesters. Too close to home for comfort maybe?
12/16/2013, 2:57 pm
Grumpy writes:
Yup, got to be a big secret with these clowns all the time. When it is one of their's, and one is caught, then it all becomes the Big Secret. One of us regular type folks and there would be no secret anything. This goofball judge broke the law by not following the law, lock him up for a year minimum WITH the general population.
12/16/2013, 12:13 pm