By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com
In Brooklyn, a federal judge is getting some attention for siding more with a man convicted on child pornography charges than with federal prosecutors.
The New York Times reports that U.S. District Judge Jack B. Weinstein blew off prosecutor’s recommendation that defendant Pietro Polizzi, 57, of Queens get 11-14 years. On Thursday, the judge gave him the mandatory minimum of five years.
The Times wrote that Judge Weinstein “was compassionate toward the defendant, allowing him to remain free for two more months, and dismissive of the government’s efforts to get a longer sentence.”
Last year, in an interview with The New York Times, the judge said those who viewed pornography should not be treated the same as those who produce images.
”We’re destroying lives unnecessarily,” he said then. ”At the most, they should be receiving treatment and supervision.”
On Thursday, the judge responded to the government’s sentencing recommendation of 11-14 years, according to the Times, by saying: ”I find it grossly excessive. Therefore, a guideline sentence is not imposed.”
Federal prosecutors had asked that he be taken into custody immediately. The judge gave him eight weeks before he had to report to prison, the Times reported.
”Calling it a crime of violence for this purpose seems to me a strange treatment of language,” the judge said, according to the Times. ”It does seem to me to be a form of cruel and unusual punishment and punitive in nature.”
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