How do you know if you're getting the full story?

There has been a case in Paris recently which has garnered national attention. An 18-year-old special education student was sentenced to three consecutive 30-year prison terms and two 5-year terms for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old neighbor. "How ignorant and backwards these Parisians must be," claim the national do-gooders. But they don't know the whole story. They don't know the people involved. They don't live next door to this man.

I give as an example The Dallas Morning News:

One of their headlines read that he was sentenced for "participating" in a sex act. A 220 pound man "participates" in a sex act with a child, or he forces a sex act on a child? I tend to think it's the latter. The newspaper described the act as fondling. It was actually forced oral sex. I have also read at least one account that said it went far beyond that. As Prosecutor Gary Young describes it, it was a "violent sexual crime."

The newspaper describes him as having "profound" mental disabilities. His mental disabilities were not so profound that he didn't go to school, ride his bike around the neighborhood, go shopping, and do other ordinary things that other ordinary people do.

The newspaper says Paris is "unforgiving." Well, excuse me, but that's a pretty stupid statement. If we're just going to forgive every criminal, why have courts or laws at all? What about protecting the innocent? That had a lot more to do with it than being "unforgiving."

The newspaper says that veteran disability rights advocates believe he should have counseling, probation, or placement in a group home. Well, if his mental disabilities or so profound, can he understand counseling? Probation is a great idea -- he has no supervision at home, and if he isn't able to understand right from wrong, I can see him heading right back over to his victim's home for another attack. Group home? Do we want to subject the other disabled people in a group home to him?

He's a first-time offender, the newspaper laments. No, he's not. He was on probation when he was arrested for assaulting this child, and he had a criminal mischief charge pending.

He was a target for bullies who stole his bike and his shoes. I have no confirmation of this, but I heard it was the other way around. He was gentle, courteous and well-behaved. As long as defecating on the neighbors' lawns and throwing bricks through their front doors doesn't count.

So you see, you didn't get the whole story from the newspaper accounts. Yet people all over the United States have decided they're experts on this case, and we all must be blooming idiots. And the moral of this story is, you can't believe everything you read in the papers.

"Is 100-year sentence too much?" The Dallas Morning News; June 10, 2009; p. 1A.