Amish Ringleader In Beard-Cutting Attacks Sentenced To 15 Years Prison

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

CLEVELAND, Ohio. — The ringleader in hair- and beard-cutting attacks on fellow Amish in Ohio was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison.

Before his sentencing, Samuel Mullet Sr. told Judge Dan Aaron Polster in Cleveland that he had been blamed for running a cult and was ready to take the punishment. Polster also sentenced 15 other Amish to prison terms ranging from one to seven years.

Mullet, his ankles in chains and a white beard down to mid-chest, said if his community is seen as a cult, "Then I'm going to take the punishment for everybody."

With relatives of victims and his family sitting on opposite sides of the public gallery, Mullet said he has lived his life trying to help others.

MORE...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/amish_ringleader_prison_beard_cutting_M8IqcIjdx3Jv1HHyXUqcJJ

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/amish_ringleader_prison_beard_cutting_M8IqcIjdx3Jv1HHyXUqcJJ

[mac56]

1. Wait... his name is Mullet?

And he's cutting other people's hair?!

[riqster]

2. And that badly!

[Happyhippychick]

8. My thought exactly

[efhmc]

3. Isn't that a pretty heavy sentence for what he and his minions did?

Fifteen years?

[LiberalLovinLug]

5. that's what I'm thinking

That's more than for second degree murder.
There's worse behavior in a frat house. Mittens got off pretty lightly in that case.

- As for the victims, he added, "They got their beard back again, so what's the big deal about it?"

I kinda agree.
Some kind of punishment should apply, It's like a mild form of terrorism, but 15 years?

Also, kinda funny, one cult accusing an even more dogmatic cult of being one.

[yellowcanine]

7. It's assault. By grown men. For religious reasons. Nothing like frat pranks.

Yeah their beards grew back. So what? Knife wounds heal as well but it is still assault.

[yellowcanine]

6. Well he was running a cult and ordered the others to carry out the attacks.

Prosecutors were successful in proving it a hate crime and that adds to the sentence.

Mullet apparently exercised control by having sex with several different married women in the sect as well. This could have been considered in determining the length of the sentence. I would not feel sorry for him.

[efhmc]

12. I do not feel the least bit sorry for him.

But there are rapists who get less time. The sentence for a first time offensive for rape is 5 years. Those convicted are usually in jail 2 years and the rest is probation time. Of course less than 12% of rapists ever see any prison time, anyway.

[Moosepoop]

13. I don't feel sorry for him, either.

But in what state is the sentence for rape standardized at 5 years for a first offense? It certainly didn't work that way when my rapist was sentenced -- he got 30 to 50 years.

[efhmc]

15. Glad that rapist got a severe sentence. Average time is 5 yrs for first offense.

This is where I got part of my information: http://mith.umd.edu/WomensStudies/GenderIssues/Violence+Women/ResponsetoRape/chapter2-numbers A very interesting study. Looks like that is a very old study and the time served is even less now:http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/2551/Sentencing-STATE-SENTENCES-TIME-SERVED.html

[yellowcanine]

19. He showed absolutely no remorse either. Nor did the others. Part of locking him up for a long time

is to make sure he doesn't go right back and do it all over again. He will be eligible for parole in a few years and the parole board can see if his attitude has changed.

[obamanut2012]

11. They stalked and attacked rthem

Kept them imprisoned, and left them bloody and bruised. It was legally considered a hate crime, too. It was also conspiracy.

I think he deserved even longer. SIXTEEN people were part of this mob.

[Posteritatis]

17. Organized a group of people to detain and assault multiple people who disagreed with him?

I'm okay with someone who decided it was a good idea to put together an arrangement like that getting slapped hard by the law, even if most of the reactions to it from people are likely to be variants on "LOL Amish."

[Ash_F]

22. There are a few(several?) aggravating factors

1. There were multiple attacks.

2. This is the person who planned and organized it. The others got 1 to 7 years.

3. There was religious motivation. And The Amish have religious reasons for growing their hair long, making this a hate crime.

Also, none of them are likely to serve their full sentences.

[Honeycombe8]

23. He was convicted of kidnapping and a hate crime.

He could have gotten life.

Just because you don't kill someone doesn't make kidnapping and a hate crime equal to light battery. It was very serious, what they did. They targeted a group of people who didn't "believe and behave the right way," according to their morals...they kidnapped them, tied them up, and changed the part of their appearance that signified their religious beliefs. He got off pretty light.

[question everything]

26. The government wanted life in prison

This is hate crime and needs to be handled severely.

[Cha]

28. Exactly. Jay-sus. How about 2

years?

Ah, I see where it was a kidnapping.. and a hate crime. Not good.

[truthisfreedom]

4. This is a weird, weird story.

[cstanleytech]

9. I wonder what Wierd Al would say

[obamanut2012]

10. He deserved longer

I agree with the DA that it was a hate crime, as well as aggravated assault, kidnapping, etc.

[Tx4obama]

14. It costs $50,000 per year to keep each person in prison...

There must be a better way to punished folks for things like this than spent that much taxpayer money.

[Honeycombe8]

24. That's what prisons are for. To incarcerate criminals. nt

[oberle]

16. Ohio is becoming like Florida and Texas.

More and more freaks are living here.

[Tom Ripley]

18. Poor man will be subjected to electric lights and other worldly amenities

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

21. Yeah.............................

That's a great point. The long term impact of a "modern" prison ought to be interesting. At the same time, this entire story reminds me of "A Clockwork Orange." Now the rehabilitative phase.

[Honeycombe8]

25. That "highly moral, religious" man also was having sex with married female relatives.

Like many cult leaders, there's rules for the minions, and rules for himself. And his rules for himself usually include sex of those under his control.

[Ian Iam]

20. Watch out, Mr Soprano!

[musical_soul]

27. I feel horrible about laughing.

If he was killing, that would be one thing, but a beard cutter hardly qualifies as a mafia.

I know this much. Conservatives can no longer say that Christians don't benefit from anti-hate crime advocacy.

[Socal31]

29. A little silly and misguided to me.

The man should do some time and pay restitution for the fear that him and his followers caused the people who were assaulted. I am sure they did not know exactly what was going to happen for them, and for that there should be serious consequences.

But locking someone up for 15 years for cutting hair, no matter how religious it is, is rather ludicrous. If I go to a pasta-farians house and serve the noodles anything other than al-dente, should it be a sentence enhancement?

The reality is, people become worse in prison. We do no "reform" in the US, we punish.


Restitution to the victims, a couple years in the clink, and thousands of hours of community service to help victims of assault and other violent crimes would do society a much better service.

[christx30]

30. What if you

Kidnapped people, beat them up, shaved them against their will in a manner that violated their religion?

Suppose he had done that to a Muslim or a Sikh.
That's the reason for the stiff sentence. It wasn't just beard cutting.

[Socal31]

31. Sorry I must not have read the whole thing.

Kidnapping, no matter the reason, should carry a stiff sentence.

I don't care what religion it is, the government shouldnt in the business of deciding what is a religious practice and what isn't. Charge for the crimes committed.