To the editor:

Those attempting to remove Judge Paula Martin from office leave the distinct but completely incorrect impression that the men involved got away with their crime without serious punishment. As a former assistant district attorney in Douglas County, I worked on many sex crime cases and am familiar with the sentences imposed. It is misleading to cite the guidelines sentence and then say that these men simply “received probation.” In fact, they were each given an underlying sentence of 30 months in state custody followed by 36 months of supervision and, only then, placed on probation from that sentence.

The distinction is not academic. Any deviation from the terms of their probation could result in actually serving the entire sentence. And I can assure you that the 18 conditions of the five-year probation, which include wearing a global positioning monitor on their person, obeying all laws, submitting to random drug and breath tests, successfully completing a sex-offender treatment program and maintaining full-time employment while also completing 500 hours of community service work, are no walk in the park.

Douglas County has an excellent Community Corrections staff and it’s a safe bet that the probation officers to whom these men are assigned are watching them closely. Moreover, the men have served 60 days in jail and will have to register as sex offenders, a status that will follow and limit them for the rest of their lives.

The sentence imposed is a serious sentence thoughtfully designed to address the specific circumstances of a serious crime. It should not be mischaracterized as less.

Mary Prewitt,

Lawrence