MISSISSIPPI
Clarion-Ledger
Editorial
There sometimes appears to be no such thing as fairness in the courts when sentencing is involved — ironic since our systems are set up to foster that very thing.
But take the John Langworthy case as an example. The former Clinton church music minister and school choir director pleaded guilty this week to five felony counts of gratification of lust for molesting children almost 30 years ago.
Langworthy will serve no time in prison for molesting the children, a fact that seems outrageous for the heinous crimes. Consider only that former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky received last year 30 to 60 years in prison — effectively a life sentence — from a Pennsylvania judge for the sexual abuse of 10 boys.
Sandusky, of course, did not plea bargain. He was convicted by a jury on 45 of 48 counts related to the sexual abuse of boys over a 15-year period.
Langworthy, a longtime Clinton school district choir director and former music minister at Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, entered a guilty plea before Hinds Circuit Court Judge Bill Gowan to five counts of an eight-count indictment. The guilty pleas were part of a plea agreement with the Hinds County district attorney’s office.
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