AL Judge Woodroof Suspended 20yr Sentence of Rapist Austin Clem to Probation

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UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Limestone County, AL Judge James Woodroof Suspended Sentence of Austin Clem Convicted of Forcible & 2nd Degree Rape from 20 Years to No Prison Time Sentence

http://scaredmonkeys.com/2013/11/17/unbelievable-limestone-county-al-judge-james-woodroof-suspended-sentence-of-austin-clem-convicted-of-forcible-2nd-degree-rape-from-20-years-to-no-prison-time-sentence/

If there was ever a story that needed to be categorized as WTF, it is the following one …

JUSTICE? 25 year old Austin Clem had been previously convicted raping a minor Courtney Andrews. The abuse started when she was 13, saying she kept quiet for years because of threats at the hands of her rapist. Clem had sexually abused her at age 13, then raped her twice at age 14 and once at age 18. Austin Clem now faced the sentencing for his crimes, or so everyone thought.  Initially, Limestone County, Alabama Judge James Woodroof handed down a jail terms of 20 years for forcible rape and 10 years each for two second-degree rape charges to run concurrently. Then Judge James Woodroof did the unthinkable. The judge suspended those sentences and instead gave Clem three community corrections sentences of two years plus three years of supervised probation, to be carried out concurrently. Austin Clem must register as a sex offender, but if he follows all the ridiculous suspended sentence guidelines, this rapist will stay out of prison. According to reports at CNN, not only was the victim stunned, so to was the rapist’s defense attorney.


I’m still baffled,” the victim, Courtney Andrews, told CNN. She came forward publicly to express her outrage over Wednesday’s sentencing. “I don’t know how any of this is possible.”

The defense for Austin Clem, 25, was also caught off guard at first.

“Frankly, I think the judge’s sentence was surprising to most everyone in the courtroom,” said Clem’s attorney, Dan Totten.

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Athens man convicted by Limestone jury on 3 counts of raping teenager

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2013/09/athens_man_convicted_by_limest.html

After deliberating for just under two hours, the jury returned with guilty verdicts for one count of first-degree rape and two counts of second-degree rape against 25-year-old Austin Smith Clem, Jones said. Clem will be sentenced Nov. 13 in Limestone County Circuit Court.

Jones said the incidents with the girl, who was the daughter of a family friend, occurred between 2007 and 2011. Some of the incidents occurred when she was under 16, which included the second-degree counts, and one when she was over 16, which led to the first-degree count of forcible sex.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kvue.com/news/national/232382131.html
Ala. official wants reviewed sentence in rape case
November 18, 2013

ATHENS, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama prosecutor wants a state appeals court to review a judge's sentence for a man who was convicted on three counts of rape but avoided any time in prison.
Limestone County District Attorney Brian Jones filed papers over the weekend asking the Court of Criminal Appeals to intervene in the case of Austin Smith Clem, 25, of Athens, a clerk said Monday.
Jones also asked a judge to delay the no-prison sentence and temporarily incarcerate Clem.
A petition filed with the appeals court argues the lenient sentence was illegal under state law because Clem was convicted of first-degree rape and two counts of second-degree rape. Clem should have been sentenced to at least three years in prison under the type of sentence the judge ordered, the prosecutor argued.