Restoring common sense in Oregon

Police and school officials in McMinnville, Oregon apparently do not know the difference between criminal sex offenders and unruly boys. But, thankfully, a judge does.

Criminal sexual abuse charges were dismissed by a judge against two 13-year-old seventh graders who had been handcuffed, held in jail for five days, and charged with felonies after running through a school hallway slapping the butts of female classmates.

Do this as a college student and you make Girls Gone Wild. Do it at an Oregon junior high and you face prison time. See the story:

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/bottom-slapping-case-dismissed/20070820171109990001

We're seeing more of this every day. Prosecutors and school officials who crucify childlike behavior. The prosecutor had no qualms about charging the boys, saying their criminal behavior was "life altering." As it turned out, several boys were swatting the heinies of girls, and several girls were doing the same to the boys. The only thing life altering about this story is the abusive prosecution conducted by the state.

If this trend continues you would think the students themselves would cry for bringing back corporal punishment in our schools. Three licks from a football coach is a whole lot better than what these poor boys had to go through before the judge said, "enough is enough" and dismissed the charges "in the interests of justice."

The people in McMinnville, Oregon should be taking a close look at whether the district attorney and the school officials should continue in their jobs. They should also re-elect Judge John Collins for restoring common sense to their community.