Strange though the concept may sound, there is something of a hierarchy of honor and respect among convicted criminals in prisons, with certain kinds of criminals looked down upon and held in contempt by the others.
Near the bottom of that hierarchical order are those convicted of sex crimes against minors or who traffic in child pornography, thus it was no surprise to see reports that disgraced former sports coach Larry Nassar had been assaulted by other inmates in a federal prison.
Brutal Assault
According to The Washington Times, Nassar was brutally assaulted by fellow prisoners mere hours after being transferred to the general population of the federal prison in Arizona in which he is serving a 60-year sentence for possession of child pornography.
Nassar, formerly the doctor for Team USA women’s gymnastics and Michigan State University’s gymnastics team, was also convicted earlier in the year of sexually assaulting and molesting dozens upon dozens of young girls and women over the years.
He is facing a 40-175 year sentence in state prison for those crimes, a sentence that will begin after his 60-year sentence in federal prison is completed, meaning the 54-year-old molester will almost certainly never be free again and will die in prison.
The fact that he was essentially sentenced to die in prison, along with harsh rhetoric from the sentencing judge, is the crux of the argument raised in a court motion filed by Nassar’s public defenders, who are demanding the convicted molester be resentenced to shorter and concurrent prison terms instead of lengthy consecutive ones.
Judge’s Harsh Words
The defense attorneys also in part blamed the prison assault that occurred in May on statements made by Judge Rosemarie Aquilina in January, at which time she allowed some 169 girls, young women and family members deliver statements to the court prior to sentencing.
The judge had referred to Nassar as a “monster” who deserved to “wither” away in prison at the time of his sentencing, and quite obviously seemed to side with the many victims … which led the attorneys to call into question her bias, and could pave the way for an appeal.
She also noted proudly that she had essentially signed his “death warrant” and suggested that, if it were solely up to her and allowed by the Constitution, she’d allow others to “do to him what he did to others.”
Aside from taking issue with the lengthy sentences and the judge’s harsh rhetoric, Nassar’s defenders also criticized how the judge seemed to “advance her own agenda” and allowed the victims and their families to conduct a “free for all” against Nassar and his attorneys in the courtroom.
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Nassar’s lawyers didn’t provide many details with regard to the assault their client suffered after being transferred into the Arizona prison’s general population, but it most likely was pretty bad.
Nobody should feel the least bit sorry for Nassar, but unfortunately his attorneys may very well have grounds for an appeal and reduced sentencing if they can prove that the assault and lengthy sentences were due to the judge’s biased nature and comments instead of just the horrific crimes he committed.