Judge allowed rapist to marry victim's mother New York (dpa) - A New York judge who allowed a rapist to marry his victim's mother has said that he weds "scores" of convicts each year to help them avoid gay experiences behind bars, according to a report Friday. New York State Supreme Court Justice James Canfield - who performed a marriage ceremony before packing the rapist off to prison - said he plays matchmaker so prisoners can have conjugal visits, Thle New York Post reported. When told critics called the weddings wrong, Canfield snapped: "So we should turn [inmates] into homosexuals? The courts ruled that to be cruel and unusual punishment, no offense to the homosexuals," said Canfield, who has been a judge since 1992. "Rather than getting trapped in deviant sexual behavior, I'd rather they have heterosexual, conjugal opportunities." Canfield, 60, garnered widespread attention when on Monday he married a just-sentenced convicted rapist to the mother of his victim. Defiant Canfield did it again Thursday, presiding over the wedding of a man sentenced minutes before by another judge to up to 10 years in prison. That convict had sex with three young girls, including two of his daughters. Many inmates take the plunge in hopes of becoming eligible for conjugal visits, which are allowed in 17 of the state's 71 prisons. Canfield estimates he marries between 20 and 30 prisoners a year just before they are shipped off to the big house. He said he does it in part because no other judge in his county will. Canfield told The Post the ceremony takes just a few minutes, and often the soon-to-be inmate is in shackles. He said he does not inquire about what crimes have been committed. Miroslav Antic, http://www.antic.org/ THE END ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bUrHhl.bVKZIr Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
