A Delaware Superior Court judge, Jan Jurden, is under fire after sending a wealthy heir to the DuPont fortune to treatment rather than prison because Robert H. Richards IV would “not fare well” in prison after being convicted of raping his 3-year-old daughter. [A review of the record shows the concern raised about not faring well in prison but it is not clear how stated this concern. The Judge did express concern over the lack of jail time, though it is not clear why the Judge approved the sentence]
Jurten was convicted of fourth degree rape. Under state law, fourth degree rape is defined as:
§ 770 Rape in the fourth degree; class C felony.
(a) A person is guilty of rape in the fourth degree when the person:
(1) Intentionally engages in sexual intercourse with another person, and the victim has not yet reached that victim’s sixteenth birthday; or
(2) Intentionally engages in sexual intercourse with another person, and the victim has not yet reached that victim’s eighteenth birthday, and the person is 30 years of age or older, except that such intercourse shall not be unlawful if the victim and person are married at the time of such intercourse; or
(3) Intentionally engages in sexual penetration with another person under any of the following circumstances:
a. The sexual penetration occurs without the victim’s consent; or
b. The victim has not reached that victim’s sixteenth birthday.
Richard was accused of rape after his ex-wife Tracy filed a lawsuit over the abuse of his daughter. Richards lives off a trust fund and has no job. His great-grandfather is du Pont family patriarch Irenee du Pont, and his father is Robert H. Richards III and was a named partner at the Richards Layton & Finger law firm. He lives in a mansion worth $1.8 million in Greenville. He was accused of sexually abusing his infant son between 2005 and 2007 as well as his daughter starting when she was 3. He was originally indicted on two counts of second-degree rape of a child. After the girl described sexual abuse, Tracy Richards confronted her then-husband who allegedly admitted to the abuse but said “it was an accident and he would never do it again.”
Richards took a plea to one count of rape in the fourth degree, which has no mandatory time but can result in up to 15 years in jail.
The plea bargain likely reflected the challenge of any trial based on dated accounts of a very young child. However, what Richards did plead guilty to fourth degree rape, still a very serious offense. The question is whether it is appropriate for such a felon to be spared jail due to the adjustment needed in going from a mansion to a prison cell. For some it reminds them of the recent affluenza case in Texas.
Defense lawyer Joseph A. Hurley insisted that the court got it right: “Sex offenders are the lowest of the low in prison. He’s a rich, white boy who is a wuss and a child perv. The prison can’t protect them, and Jan Jurden knows that reality. She is right on.”
What do you think?
Source: Delaware Online
annie,
I have already been criticized for the sources I use for my posts. They aren’t far-right-wing sources. I guess that’s the problem.
As the leader of the Occupy jonathanturley.org movement, I criticized your sources because they were ALL left-wing. I told you that then.
This may or may not be the result of his wealth. I’ve had public defender clients spared jail because they would not fare well. Two that stand out are a cute, slightly built white kid (barely adult) and a trans (or at least cross dressing) black male. The judges in those cases explicitly spared them jail because of what might happen to them. And they were poor.
Okay censor follies – this is getting a bit much – Why the redact of me comment?
Looks like Pick wants to direct what Professor Turley chooses to blog about.
Think of me as the Occupy jonathanturley.org. 🙂
“How strange to fixate on immigration when the subject of this blogpost is that this dispicable person is getting preferential treatment because of his wealth.” Right. Like when you hijack a thread about Muslim extremists by pointing out stupid things like Christians do?
Paul Schulte
“How strange to fixate on one case when there are 68000 released felons to deal with?”
*****
File a complaint with the author of this blog post about his “fixating” on this one case.
Elaine – I have already ‘filed my complaint.’
….and to the Oligarchy for which it stands, many nations, under oppression, with liberty and justice for the wealthy.
You close this report with a characteristic “What do you think?”. It is fairly obvious what most more or less healthy people would think. And it should be obvious the outrage that should be and is unleashed by this sort of event.
It is a banal and impotent outrage.
Has now the standard of justice been so perverted that it hinges upon what someone can bear…in prison? By such a measure , or principle (if the word is not to much abused in this context) the “justice” system would be a different system.
But I toss it back to you Mr. Turley… What do you think?
What do you think about a system that you teach, that is presumably founded on principles that would exclude this sort of outcome, and then consider other perversions of justice that you so often and so well document in these pages/posts… and then consider the principles that you teach that presumably also underlie our justice system …. Where is the disconnect? What is wrong? Something more profound than the usual wailing about how “its all corrupt” or some such thing… Is it? actually completely corrupted? Our system of justice?
If it is , what is the functional dynamics/principles of the corruption? Money? Power? of course… but how, and why, and when?
Or… what is the right question to be asked in light of this and other cases?
Then please tell us what you think.
We can be outraged… maybe you and your peers need to be more courageous in moments like this and tell us something more than a blog version of a “Cops” Show, where we can ‘tut tut’ and feel upset and angry about “those people”… and never get any deeper than our unfocused feelings….
And feelings mostly uninformed by either facts or principle.
It is apparent that something is fundamentally and structurally wrong with our system of Justice… What is it? Beyond anecdotal stories and cases like this… What is it ,Mr Turly ,that is wrong?
I wish you or someone who has understanding at the structural level of our justice system would respond.
We need something more than just daily outrages and violations of some commonly felt sense of justice – a feeling that something is wrong though essentially not understood.
This report could be a starting point, : how is it that this decision even makes any sense at all?
But this case is too small to bear the larger point more than an introduction to my hard and heavy question and request…
So… again… What do you think? And be deep and detailed, not simply anecdotal… please.
~michael
Yep.
Annie,
Alter egos…perhaps?
How strange to fixate on immigration when the subject of this blogpost is that this dispicable person is getting preferential treatment because of his wealth.
How strange to fixate on one case when there are 68000 released felons to deal with?
The personalities are now integrating.
Justice or just-us?
Nick, at this point I do not care what the immigrants do.
Americans are getting sick and tired of watching the wealthy walk for doing the same crimes that others serve life for. The backlash is coming – and people like me – we are the ones who are going to pay with our lives. You probably will too – unless you are in the 1% – then you might live a little longer than the rest of us.
I’ve been fed a bunch of bull shit by the powers that be in this country since as far back as i can remember. I used to say the pledge of allegiance every day after the bell rang. My recent discovery that this country is the complete opposite of what it presents itself to be has been an extremely tough pill to swallow and that is saying it mildly.
To divert attention from the real problem in this country is unfathomable. This man is raping children and you want to talk about immigrants.
You think Mexicans live off the government? They live off of MY TAX DOLLARS and so does CONGRESS and SCOTUS. At least the Mexicans are not pissing away my tax money and denying me affordable healthcare. At least Mexicans are not taking away my rights and setting wealthy rapists and murderers free.
Hopefully, his assistant will pay the penalty….In a dark alley, one night
Annie,
The richest among us are the job creators…remember? We can’t put them in jail–just as we didn’t put the Wall Street banksters behind bars after they tanked the economy.
As for this disgusting human being, locking him up is the only way of protecting other children. It’s an Oligarchy judge, what else can we expect?
Blue Bird, The issue is not immigration, it is criminality of those here illegally. Do you believe a person here illegally, who commits a felony, should be allowed to stay? I am a strong advocate for Mexicans who work hard, do not live off the government, and obey the law. I am tough on those who don’t. This leniency for felons will create a huge backlash if it doesn’t cease.
Wow, what a coincidence, Paul Schulte was a history teacher and he also worked as a correctional officer earlier in life too, just like Nick! Ol’ Nick and him should get together over a beer and discuss old times. They seem to be cut out of the same cloth and are both serene now. 😀
Blue Bird – Mexican groups like La Raza are helping less wealthy rapists and murderers get free. La Raza and its supporting groups are allowing tons of illegal drugs into the country. And when you support them you are supporting the drug violence in Mexico. You are complicit in the murder of thousands, both innocent and guilty.
One man raped one child and is getting treatment. 68000 committed crimes and are going free. That would be 1%ER Barack Obama and his minions who are responsible for their freedom.
Don’t worry Paul, immigration won’t matter anymore when the economy collapses because of the greedy sociopaths – who despite their billions need more and more money.
Money in politics is going to collapse our economy because of greed and you are diverting attention from that to immigration.
Focus. These people are getting away with rape and murder and you are concerned because some immigrants got set free.. SMH