Judge Getting Threats After Rich Rapist Dodges Prison

Delaware has had to provide a security detail for Superior Court Judge Jan Jurden, because she is getting threats over her not-exactly-harsh sentencing of du Pont heir Robert Richards IV, the News Journal reports. Since news broke earlier this week that Jurden gave Richards probation for the rape of his 3-year-old daughter, reasoning that he would "not fare well" in prison, at least three online petitions have sprung up demanding she be removed from the bench.

Jurden's sentence followed prosecutors' recommendation in a plea deal they struck with Richards. Attorney General Beau Biden defended that deal yesterday in a letter to the News Journal. "This was not a strong case," he said. "The only witness to the crime was the (child) victim." The deal at least ensured Richards would register as a sex offender. "Judge Jurden exercised sound discretion based solely on the merits of the case," he added. (More Robert Richards IV stories.)