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O'Reilly said the reason the impeachment of Judge Connor fell through is because the Democrats refused to vote for it, when in reality the Republicans decided to not bring it up for a vote. And the REPUBLICAN Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice said Judge Connor should not be impeached.
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Ohio is on a growing list of states that restrict where sex offenders are allowed to live. In 2003, state lawmakers passed legislation that forbids sex-crime convicts from living within 1,000 feet of schools.
This kind of anti-anxiety medicine comes at a considerable cost, especially in the time law enforcement personnel must spend away from other crime-fighting.
Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck determined that about 200 offenders lived within forbidden zones. Greene County authorities found out that about 100 sex offenders violated the restrictions.
The costs add up — especially in a state with about 13,500 offenders. Do the benefits justify the expense?
The statewide association of Iowa prosecutors convincingly argues the answer is no. The prosecutors understand the public's fears but offer facts: Broad residency restrictions do little to promote child safety.
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Strangers do sometimes commit sex crimes against children after gaining access to them at or around schools, playgrounds, parks and school bus stops, they explain. But it's rare.
The much bigger threat is from relatives and acquaintances — who commit as many as 90 percent of sex crimes against children.
The Iowa prosecutors also argue that residency restrictions so limit the places ex-offenders can live that they are more likely to register under a false address or drop out of the system altogether.
Restrictions also may prevent offenders from living at the home of family members best able to stabilize their lives, or at facilities recommended by parole and probation officials.
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Then, of course, there are the enforcement costs. One Iowa county estimated that it would cost $2.7 million to identify, evict and jail offenders of an ordinance that prohibits sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools, day care centers, and numerous other facilities.
More.......
www.daytondailynews.com/opinion/content/opinion/daily/0320sexoffender_.html
On Thursday, the day the real NCAA March madness started, Attorney General Jim Petro and Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell came to the Mandalay Banquet Center in Moraine to speak at the Montgomery County Republican Party's annual Lincoln Day Dinner.
Blackwell and Petro each want to be the Republican candidate for governor and told the crowd why.
Blackwell also explained why Petro wouldn't be a good choice. For one thing, Petro's a latecomer to the crusade against abortion and, while sincere, must be considered "on probation," warned Blackwell.
Petro didn't hear the warning.
He'd already headed back to Columbus to join other Republicans in banging away on Franklin County Common Pleas Judge John A. Connor.
Connor — wouldn't you know it? — is a Democrat.
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Bill The O'Reilly Factor O'Reilly of Fox News heard about the case and began blasting away at the judge.
Petro and Gov. Bob Taft joined the blasting, calling for Connor's removal.
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Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, got riled up, too. He said the House would review how it could go about impeaching Connor.
Husted, by the way, missed the Lincoln Day Dinner so he could make a TV appearance denouncing Connor.
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Republicans are eager to change the subject and have been looking for things — preferably Democrats — to get indignant about. Selva and Connor suited their purpose.
One Republican killjoy, Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, flashed a caution light in front of hard chargers Husted, Taft and Petro.
"We need to be very cautious before embarking on a course of action that may have the unintended consequence of causing judges to fear retribution from the legislative and executive branches whenever they are dissatisfied with the outcome of a particular case," Moyer said. "This type of atmosphere could seriously damage the impartiality of the courts."
Moyer later thanked legislative leaders for not going ahead with impeachment. Petro, however, still sounded indignant and said he was disappointed that some House members didn't want to impeach Connor.
More.....
www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/0319hershey.html
In another article we find this out, and none of this was ever mentioned by O'Reilly.
It turns out prosecutors wanted to make a plea deal, because there were problems with how the case had been handled. The Columbus Dispatch reported that probation in sexual assault cases are not uncommon on the local common pleas court. What's more, the offender in Judge Connor's case wasn't just turned loose.
He will undergo residential treatment and a year of home detention. He will spend eight years in prison if he violates his probation.
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House Speaker Jon Husted — ordinarily known for being careful and deliberate — got caught up in the case, saying he would "examine" the possibility of Judge Connor's removal.
Mr. Husted ended up Friday on the high road, deciding not to pursue impeachment. He correctly realized that Ohio is best served by a court system governed by due process — not gutless politicians egged on by a cable television crank.
More.......
www.daytondailynews.com/opinion/content/opinion/daily/0319connor.html
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