Stacey Dean Rambold, a former Montana high-school teacher, has raped a 14-year-old student, Cherice Moralez. Who was a freshmen in Rambold’s business class in 2007. Moralez committed suicide in 2010 before her 17th birthday, and right before the case went to trial. The 55-year-old teacher, Rambold, pleaded guilty to having sex with a teenageer without consent, but Rambold was only sent to prison for 30 days.
During the original sentencing in 2010, the Judge G. Todd Baugh said the teen was “older than her chronological age” and said she was “as much in control of the situation” like Rambold. The sentence and remarks sparked protest and many people wanted Judge G. Todd Baugh to resign. Judge G. Todd Baugh admitted he made a mistake, and he tried to fix his error in his part by giving Rambold at least two-year in jail instead of 31 days. Unfortunately, because of double jeopardy laws, Judge G. Todd Baugh could not change a sentence while the sentence was out.
Seven years later, on Friday, September 26, 2014 the Judge Randal Spaulding re-sentenced the Rambold case through an appeal. At this time, Rambold was handcuffed in court and taken to Montana State Prison for 15 years in prison, with five years of that suspended.
The topic relates to the Democratic values of authority, life, and truth. As a judge, he or she must be fair because they have the power to declare whether the criminal is guilty or not, which affects people’s life. In this case, I think it is not fair that the Judge G. Todd Baugh had his own opinion over the 14-year-old girl in the court. “We can not judge a book by its cover. ” Even the Judge G. Todd Baugh did realize he had made a mistake, but he should have thought carefully in the first place before he made the decision.
A teacher we all know as a wonderful job to have knowledge and to teach or guide students to their future, but Rambold’s evil behavior caused Moralez to commit suicide. On the other hand, Moralez giving up her own life because of someone else’s fault was a big mistake. I think it was not worth it. Anyway, may Moralez rest in peace.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/26/justice/montana-rape-sentence/index.html?hpt=us_c2
