Biden commuted this scumbag x judge's sentence.
Read the clippings and tell me you're ok with this commutation.
Judge Mark Ciavarella, Jr.
Mark Ciavarella, Jr., was a judge in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, who presided over juvenile court. Born in 1950, he served as president judge of the county’s Court of Common Pleas and was known for his "zero-tolerance" approach to juvenile crime. However, his reputation unraveled when it was revealed that he and another judge, Michael Conahan, received $2.8 million in kickbacks from the owners of two private juvenile detention centers, PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care.
The Scandal and Conviction
From 2003 to 2008, Ciavarella sentenced thousands of children to private facilities for minor offenses, often bypassing proper legal procedures and denying them legal representation. Many of these children were first-time offenders, and the sentences were disproportionately harsh. The judges concealed their financial arrangements with the detention centers, ultimately leading to Ciavarella’s conviction on racketeering, conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering charges in 2011. He was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison.
Tragic Consequences
The fallout from the scandal was devastating:
• Hillary Transue, a 14-year-old girl, was sentenced by Ciavarella to three months in detention for creating a MySpace parody of her school principal. This led to significant emotional trauma.
• Ed Kenzakoski, a 17-year-old sentenced by Ciavarella for a minor infraction, struggled to rebuild his life after release. He eventually committed suicide at age 23.
• Nefarious Impact on Families: Numerous families suffered emotional and financial devastation due to the judges' actions. The case highlighted systemic failures and the human toll of corruption.
Footnotes:
• Ed Kenzakoski's Death: His story became emblematic of the case's tragic outcomes, as documented in the 2014 documentary Kids for Cash.
• Broader Impact: More than 4,000 juvenile convictions were overturned, and Pennsylvania enacted reforms to prevent similar abuses.
The scandal remains one of the most egregious examples of judicial misconduct in U.S. history, showcasing the profound harm caused by corruption in the justice system.