Date rape drug procurer merits no soft sentence
As if the crime of date rape weren't malevolent enough, how about drugging the victim into comatose submission? In this case, there's the added touch that the guy supplying the drug is (or was) on the public payroll.
Stephen K. Howard, a former Auburn University laboratory technician, used his position to procure the controlled substance from the manufacturer. He reportedly stored substantial stashes of the stuff at his Auburn home, and although he claimed he never sold or gave it to Auburn students, he did twice sell it to an undercover officer.
Oops.
Howard pleaded guilty on Wednesday, and could face up to 20 years in prison. We have no standing with the court, but if we did we would not be inclined to recommend leniency.
Shakespeare lite?
It's not a pound of flesh, but a pint of blood comes uncomfortably close.
That's what a judge in central Alabama was letting offenders "pay" for a $100 credit toward court-imposed fines.
Perry County Circuit Judge Marvin Wiggins defended the practice as a "creative" alternative to jail or fines, comparing it to community service. Whether one thinks Wiggins' approach is "creative" or barbaric, a Southern Poverty Law Center ethics complaint raises valid concerns. Among them are the judge allegedly telling a defendant he didn't need a lawyer; and in several cases, defendants who did give blood not even getting the promised credits against their fines.
On top of all that, the blood bank that got the "donations" ended up discarding the blood because the reason for its collection "is potentially an unacceptable incentive for a volunteer donor."
Other than that ...
Honorably average
This is one of those rankings in which mediocrity isn't really so bad: An Insure.com report surveyed motorists across the U.S. for the rudest drivers, and Georgia came in at No. 26, square in the middle. (Even Atlantans would probably admit that if it weren't for their notoriously stressful traffic, the state would fare better.)
There didn't seem to be any consistent regional pattern. For instance, Idaho was rated the rudest state, while its neighbor Montana was ranked among the most polite. Likewise, Massachusetts drivers were considered among the rudest, while fellow New Englanders in Maine and New Hampshire were at the opposite end of the spectrum. (Hint: Only one of those states has a Boston.)
No Deep South state was ranked by poll respondents among either the five rudest or the five most polite. So maybe we can do better. But we definitely could do a lot worse. Let's not.
This story was originally published October 29, 2015 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Date rape drug procurer merits no soft sentence."