Judge to answer for low bail?

Rambix has written fairly extensively on pedophile murderer Joseph E. Duncan III here, here, here, and especially here: "Tough judge? One predator, 4 dead".

Now the brother of one of the victims wants revenge - on the judge who let this animal out on $15,000 bail. Here's the Red Star story, "Claim filed against judge, prosecutor in release of sex-offense suspect".

The brother of a man who was killed with his girlfriend and her son has filed a $500,000 tort claim accusing a Minnesota judge and prosecutor of negligence in the earlier release of Joseph E. Duncan III.

Steve McKenzie, the brother of Mark Edward McKenzie, also accused Becker County, Minn., officials who dealt with Duncan after he was arrested and accused of molesting two boys in March of negligently failing to supervise Duncan after his release on $15,000 bail.

This is a tough issue. Clearly the judge was negligent. Duncan should never have seen the light of day. On the other hand, there is plenty of blame to go around, and one might argue that no one can predict the future. That's the weak defense. The truth is, the best predicter of future behavior is past behavior. Duncan's past was a was what the FBI would call a "clue".

This is a particularly egregious case, and highlights the failings of our justice system. Too many authorities never seem to understand that you err on the side of the victim, not the criminal.

We'll be watching this one close.