In debate, liberal WI Supreme Court candidate defends reduced sentence of repeat molester of five-year-old. (WISN 12 News)
"In 2020, you did sentence a child sex offender to four years in prison after prosecutors requested 10. Do you regret that sentence?" the moderator asked Crawford.
"I don't regret that sentence, because I followed the law in that case, as I always do," Crawford responded. "I applied the law, which says that judges have to consider every relevant factor in sentencing, you have to consider both the aggravating and mitigating factors, and the Supreme Court has said you have to order the minimum amount of prison time you believe is necessary to protect the public. That's what I did in that case and every other case."
"And my goal is always to keep the community safe. And those have been sentences that have been successful, they have kept the community safe," she said. "Unlike the short jail sentences that Brad Schimmel has entered over and over, where people have gone on to commit new crimes, that's when you know the sentence has failed."
The moderator then turned to ask Schimel about his record of delaying testing of thousands of sexual assault evidence kits – a central focus of Crawford's campaign ads against him – nearly a decade ago as the then-attorney general.
'THE PENDULUM IS SWINGING': EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON HISTORIC SCOTUS TRANSGENDER CASE AMID ORAL ARGUMENTS
Convicted murderer Adrian Cosby was sentenced on Friday in a Miami-Dade County courtoom. (iStock)
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Crawford, backed by a $1 million donation from progressive philanthropist George Soros and $500,000 from Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker — a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender — also traded barbs with Schimel over his million-dollar donations from Tesla CEO and head of DOGE Elon Musk's political action committees.
The high-profile candidates also sparred over abortion, an upcoming state voter ID ballot measure and President Donald Trump.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court currently has a 4-3 liberal majority.
Jamie Joseph is a U.S. Politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering transgender and culture issues, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, and stateside legislative developments.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/soros-backed-judge-defends-reduced-sentence-repeat-child-molester-debate-state-supreme-court-race