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January 05, 2006 - From
WCAX News, Burlington VT.
Rapist's Prison Sentence Triggers Outrage
Burlington, Vermont -- January 4, 2005
There was outrage Wednesday when a Vermont judge
handed out a 60-day jail sentence to a man who raped a little girl
many,many times over a four-year span starting when she was seven.
The judge said he no longer believes in punishment
and is more concerned about rehabilitation.
Prosecutors argued that confessed child-rapist Mark
Hulett, 34, of Williston deserved at least eight years behind bars
for repeatedly raping a littler girl countless times starting when
she was seven.
But Judge Edward Cashman disagreed explaining that he
no longer believes that punishment works.
"The one message I want to get through is that anger
doesn't solve anything. It just corrodes your soul," said Judge
Edward Cashman speaking to a packed Burlington courtroom. Most of
the on-lookers were related to a young girl who was repeatedly raped
by Mark Hulett who was in court to be sentenced.
The sex abuse started when the girl was seven and
ended when she was ten. Prosecutors were seeking a sentence of eight
to twenty years in prison, in part, as punishment.
"Punishment is a valid purpose," Chittenden Deputy
Prosecutor Nicole Andreson argued to Judge Edward Cashman.
"The state recognizes that the court may not agree or
subscribe to that method of sentencing but the state does. The state
thinks that it is a very important factor for the court to
consider," Andreson added.
But Judge Cashman explained that he is more concerned
that Hulett receive sex offender treatment as rehabilitation. But
under Department of Corrections classification, Hulett is considered
a low-risk for re-offense so he does not qualify for in-prison
treatment.So the judge sentenced him to just 60 days in prison and
then Hulett must complete sex treatment when he gets out or face a
possible life sentence.
Judge Cashman also also revealed that he once handed
down stiff sentences when he first got on the bench 25 years ago,
but he no longer believes in punishment.
"I discovered it accomplishes nothing of value;it
doesn't make anything better;it costs us a lot of money; we create a
lot of expectation, and we feed on anger,"Cashman explained to the
people in the court.
The sentence outraged the victim's family who asked
not to be identified.
"I don't like it," the victim's mother,in tears, told
Channel 3. "He should pay for what he did to my baby and stop it
here. She's not even home with me and he can be home for all this
time, and do what he did in my house," she added.
Hulett -- who had been out on bail-- was taken away
to start his sentence immediately.
Brian Joyce
- Channel 3 News
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