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Kentucky's former GOP governor pardoned a bunch of rapists and murderers on his way out of office, including a child rapist
Former Republican Governor of Kentucky Matt Bevin pardoned 28 prisoners on his way out of office, including Micah Schoettle, convicted of repeatedly raping a nine year old girl over a two year period, often while her sister was present. Bevin told a conservative talk-show host that he believed Schoettle had been falsely accused and convicted, citing his understanding that child rape survivor's hymen was intact (a peer-reviewed study of girls who survive rape found that only 2.1% of them had visible damage to their hymens; Bevin told an interviewer "This is perhaps more specific than people would want, but trust me, if you have been repeatedly sexually violated as a small child by an adult, there are going to be repercussions of that physically and medically").
The rape survivors and their families now live in fear of their attacker, who, because of his pardon, will not have to register as a sex-offender.
It's not clear why Bevin pardoned as many criminals as he did, or how he chose them, but at least some of them are related to GOP donors who hosted fundraisers to pay off his campaign debts. A partisan group of Kentucky lawmakers have called for an investigation into Bevin's pardons.
Bevin was a trumpian official who often trafficked in conspiracy theories and disinformation while campaigning and in office. He served a single term before being narrowly defeated by Andy Beshear, a Democrat whose father was Steve Beshear, who served as Kentucky's governor for 8 years before Bevin took office. Read the rest
Original Link: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/3pfz7D0eVfc/micah-schoettle.html