Story

I worked at this guys house a few times. Total creeper. 10 counts of forcible rape and 1 count of object rape.

Fourth District Judge Thomas Low has made international headlines for his apparent praise of a former LDS bishop as he sentenced the man to prison last week for sexually abusing two women while they stayed at his home.

As he ordered Keith Vallejo, 43, to spend at least five years and potentially life in prison, the judge called Vallejo "an extraordinarily good man."

"I want to make it clear that court agrees with the verdict. I think the jury got it right. The court has no doubt that Mr. Vallejo is an extraordinarily good man and the letters written on his behalf were extraordinarily moving. But great men sometimes do bad things," Low says, his statements punctuated by long pauses, as he goes on to pronounce the prison sentence.

Should judges be crying and sharing their stupid opinions in open court???? In the audio, he cries clearly.

Wow.

The less you say from the bench, the better

you worked at the rapists house or the judges house?

The rapist. Lives just off center in Provo. Well, lived. Now he lives in Draper.

Makes sense, after all, he is D raper.

Perfect example of the Media blowing things out of proportion.

The judge who was supposedly praising him said all this as he was rejecting the defense's request for probation and giving him 15 years instead.

For one thing,  judges are required to state the reasons for their sentence on the record,  so it is preserved in case of appeal.

For another,  let's assume the judge was moved,  crying,  personally sympathetic,  or whatever.  Isn't this exactly what we want judges to do,  to set aside personal feelings and uphold the law? We (rightly) bitch and complain when judges bring their politics and personal pet issues to the bench, now we're going to complain when they do what they find to be right when it may be in  conflict with their personal feelings?

I agree... But the judge should have chosen better verbology... Good men don't rape kids...

I know what you are saying, but that is a very simplistic/naive view of human nature.
It's like Chapelle's bit about Cosby. Can a bunch of "good" deeds lessen the "evil" that a person does? What if the man in question saved a thousand starving orphans, but molested 2? Would that be a fair trade?
Those are questions that I can't answer, and frankly they make my head hurt.
FWIW, I'm glad he got the time, but I can understand people who never knew his bad side being upset.

Ah the Chapelle defense- he saves more than he rapes!

Lol.

In *Utah* County...? Lol.

Good luck with that.

"No good LDS folks can serve on Juries, or be Judges in Utah County."

The liberals on the East Bench in Salt Lake would throw you a party.

We "all know"  the religious bias of the folks on the Jury that convicted the rapist... Why not mention *that* religious bias...?

Almost everyone in that courtroom was more than likely LDS. The janitor in the hall... Probably LDS. The security guard at the door... Probably LDS. The prosecutor, and the prosecutors office... Probably LDS.

The kids testifying against the rapist... Probably LDS.

In Utah County, Utah, they are all probably LDS...

If you save 5000 kids and rape one, you are a worthless monster who has mental problems and you are not in control of any of your actions. You should not be in the public domain, and deserve whatever bad may come to you.

The bench is not an seat of opinion or even a person.

It is the state and should only speak of law from bench.

The law has no way to communicate so we need judges. The judges speak for the law not their own personal beliefs.

Comment on the text of the statute and otherwise STFU.