In August 2010 Connecticut Superior Judge Eddie Rodriguez
apologized to a defendant found guilty of possessing child
pornography for the severity of the mandated sentence.

> Open letter from Child AbuseWatch to Judge Rodriguez 081610 (Read)
 

From the New Haven Register 081510. (We are quoted in the 0815 article)
 

> New Haven Register Editorial: Judge wrong on child porn law (081610) (Read)
 

> Child porn cases trigger new debate: Judges lack discretion with mandatory
   sentencing (081510) (Read)

We added a comment to the 081610 article online:

Comment: Evin Daly Child AbuseWatch wrote on Aug 15, 2010 9:24 PM:
'Defense attorney William Dow should know that a jail sentence is not designed to deter, it's a punishment for the heinous crime of the possession of images of child rape. If, as Judge Rodriguez says, he has concerns about 'depriving a man or a woman of their liberty,' for their sexual and perverse interest in images of child rape, Judge Rodriguez should move to a different line of work. These images are a record of a crime, from which the possessor derives pleasure. A crime committed in response to demand from people like Charles Richard Rish. Rish and people like him create the market for child pornography. The children depicted are the real victims and deserve to be protected as such, not as images but as the children that they are. I would suggest that judges spend some time with police professionals who deal with these crimes and see the depraved and sickening actions recorded in child pornography. Perhaps then they will be less concerned with the plight of the perpetrator and more so with upholding the law and the protection of abused children.'