United States Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) has endorsed left-wing Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz for an open seat on the state’s supreme court.
Protasiewicz has a history of being lenient on violent criminals.
“On at least three occasions,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports, Protasiewicz fought to lighten the sentences of criminals who had harmed children.
Two of the three cases involved the sexual assault of a minor, and one saw a mother’s chronic neglect of her 16-year-old son who died weighing 42 pounds.
Despite requests from prosecutors, Protasiewicz decided merely to sentence each perpetrator to jail time served and probation.
One 2018 case involved a 17-year-old, Kenneth Blair, who sexually assaulted young female relatives of seven, eight, and eleven years old. The criminal complaint said Blair performed oral sex with the eight-year-old.
While Blair’s maximum sentence was 60 years in prison, prosecutors recommended two years prison with eight years extended supervision. Instead, Protasiewicz sentenced Blair to three years of probation with a 200-day credit for jail time served.
In 2021, Blair was accused of two more felony sexual assaults, but the charges were dropped due to issues with the criminal complaint.
In the 2019 chronic neglect case, 32-year-old mother Iraida Pizarro-Osorio was convicted after her 16-year-old son died weighing 42 pounds. Maximum sentence for the charge of chronic neglect of a child causing great bodily harm was 25 years in prison plus a $100,000 fine.
Pizarro-Osorio pleaded guilty to a lighter felony: neglect of a child, which carries a 12.5-year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine.
Protasiewicz gave her four years of probation and a 332-day credit for time served in jail.
In a 2020 child trafficking case, 34-year-old Anton Veasley was charged with kidnapping, child trafficking, and second-degree sexual assault of a minor. He was facing a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, and already had a long criminal record.
According to the criminal report, the perpetrator took a 15-year-old girl to a hotel and proceeded to have oral and vaginal sex with her. The girl escaped and called the police.
Veasley reached a plea deal for third-degree sexual assault and child enticement — carrying a 35 year maximum.
Protasiewicz sentenced Veasley to four years of probation and gave him a 417-day credit for jail time served.
Despite that, according to Baldwin, “Protasiewicz is the best candidate to return fairness and impartiality back to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.”
“I’m proud to support her in this race, because Wisconsinites deserve a court that follows the law, gives every case a fair hearing, and protects the rights guaranteed to everyone in our state,” the Badger State senator continued. “Today, extreme members of the court are more concerned with advancing their own political agenda, not upholding our laws. I know Judge Janet Protasiewicz will bring common sense back to the court.”
Baldwin also said in a fundraiser email that the judge will “protect our democracy from radical right-wing extremists” and “protect reproductive rights, defend voting rights, and keep our elected leaders from gerrymandering for their own political gain.”
Protasiewicz said she was “proud to have earned” Baldwin’s support.
As Breitbart News reported, Protasiewicz advanced as one of two candidates in a four-way primary February 21.
She is running against conservative former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly in the April general election.
Protasiewicz is a relatively controversial candidate, as she was outspoken about her political ideology during the campaign, saying she believes that election maps were “rigged” and making a campaign ad saying, “I believe in a woman’s freedom to make her own decision on abortion.”
Statements like that implicate cases currently expected to end up before the supreme court, such as a challenge to a 1849 law that bans abortion entirely, save when a mother’s life is at risk. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) filed a lawsuit against the law after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, which had nullified the law since 1973.
Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.
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