We sat in stunned silence, watching a miscarriage of justice occur before our very eyes as the Senate Judiciary Committee passed Robert Chatigny’s nomination out of committee on a party line vote of 11 to 7. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) was present, but declined to vote. So now Robert Chatigny, defender of sexual sadists, rapists, and murderers, will get a Senate floor vote.
As a father, I am fighting mad. Am I taking it personally? You bet. I have a daughter not too much younger than the victim of the serial murderer and rapist that Robert Chatigny fought so hard to defend. And now, this judge is voted worthy for a promotion? Unconscionable.
A vote for Chatigny is a vote against the well-being and protection of women and girls. I’m dead serious. Because of the unwillingness of the following Senators to do the right thing, women and girls are one step closer to mortal danger:
Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vermont)
Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin)
Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin)
Arlen Specter (D-Pennsylvania)
Chuck Schumer (D-New York)
Dick Durbin (D-Illinois)
Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Maryland)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island)
Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota)
Ted Kaufman (D-Delaware)
Al Franken (D-Minnesota)
Robert Chatigny, the man they just gave a nod to seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, has repeatedly given light sentences for sexual crimes such as possession of child pornography. He has defended – to the point of having charges of ethical misconduct brought against him – a sexual sadist who raped and murdered eight women and girls, some of them just a little older than my daughter. Robert Chatigny even overturned Connecticut’s law requiring registration of sex offenders, an outrageous decision that was later overturned unanimously by the Supreme Court.
But the senators know all this. And they passed him out of committee anyway. Shame on them!
Each and every one of these senators should be ashamed of themselves. And I firmly believe we ought to tell them that. Click here to find their contact information.