Today's case of "affluenza" is brought to you by HuffPo in the form of one Robert H. Richards IV.
Richards admitted to multiple counts of raping his 3-year-old daughter and infant son. In any jurisdiction in America, this would generally ensure a lengthy prison sentence. Not so in Delaware, where judge Jan Jurden felt that Richards would not "fare well" in prison.
I'm not sure who fares well in prison, but it's certainly not baby rapists - this does not stop us from locking them up to, you know, protect the children they raped. Maybe judge Jurden meant to imply that poor baby rapists would fare better than baby rapists with a du Pont trust fund. Or perhaps she meant black people would fare better in prison than white people? Delaware sure doesn't have a problem locking up black people - despite being the second smallest state in the nation, Delaware has one of the highest incarceration rates in America, disproportionately locking up minorities. In fact, the report even states:
White offenders enjoy a revolving door back to the community, compared to Black offenders, who are disproportionately sent to prison.
One has to wonder what Delaware is doing about the fact that 64% of people incarcerated are black. And the fact that people convicted of drug crimes are sent to prison, but child molesters are being released back into the community. A man who can rape his own children is a danger to all children. I don't know about you, but I would rather states prioritize removing all convicted child molesters from the streets (whether they are getting treatment or not) until their victims are 18 at the very least, and if that means letting a few black drug offenders out, so be it. This is not even a close call.
In light of the revelation that Delaware has not previously found any concern with the conditions of the prisons it sends people to, I want to know - how much money does it take to buy off a judge and sentence a baby rapist to probation with no prison time in Delaware?
And what about how well this man's children will fare, knowing their father abused them and the courts didn't feel putting him in prison was appropriate? Isn't that who prison sentences are supposed to be for? The victims?