aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Friday, June 30, 2006

Judge danger

I oppose the Georgia law because it gives the illusion of protection when, in fact, it is most likely to catch those least likely to be a real danger. Meanwhile it drains law enforcement resources away from those that are the serious threat and drives those same people further underground and away from treatment.

It sounds to me like this guy was a real and serious threat. The timing serves only to confirm our worst fears and make it more likely that we will overreact in panic and anger and support the bill:

A municipal court judge from Milledgeville who has been charged with having sex with two teenage girls has resigned from his public positions.

Jon Philip Carr, 53, resigned Monday from his role as municipal court judge in McIntyre and as prosecutor for Milledgeville Municipal Court, officials said. Tuesday, he resigned as municipal court judge in Ivey.

Carr is charged with six counts of child molestation and four counts of statutory rape, Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee said.

Carr’s Milledgeville law office declined to comment on the matter.

The victims, ages 13 and 14, escaped from Project Adventure, a halfway house for troubled youths in Baldwin County, Massee said.

This guy also fits the more typical profile: a respected individual (a judge and prosecutor no less!) known and liked in the community but leading a dark double life. Keeping him from living near a bus stop just doesn’t cut it.

We prefer to characterize these people as sick monsters who should be hung but they are our fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, friends and neighbors. They should pay for their mistakes, certainly, but the punishment should fit the crime and emphasize prevention and rehabilitation rather than retaliation and vengeance.