Oh, this case is just soooo wrong on many many levels. Terrifying, actually. Doctors have been unable to restore Johnson's mental capacity and so he's simply released? The man has a cognitive disability, I get that. There's no way to fix that. But just allowed to walk? This is outrageous. If he committed this crime nearly two dozen times, what's to keep him from doing it again? Any wonder that the victims families are outraged?
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/31/loophole-means-utah-sex-offender-set-freed/
Loophole Means Utah Sex Offender Set to Be Freed
"A convicted sex offender facing nearly two dozen charges of child sex abuse may be soon be set free because doctors says he's no danger to society even though he's not mentally competent for trial.
Lonnie Hyrum Johnson was charged in 2007 in Utah with rape, sodomy and aggravated sexual abuse of a child for alleged acts with his niece and her step-cousin between 2001 and 2006.
Each charge is a first-degree felony. If convicted at a trial, the 38-year-old Johnson would face life sentences for every count. Instead, it appears he will be freed sometime soon after a hearing Thursday afternoon.
Deemed incompetent for trial by a judge in 2008, Johnson has been institutionalized at Utah State Hospital in Provo, about 45 miles north of Salt Lake City, where doctors have been working to restore his mental capacity. But several weeks ago, the judge found that he likely would not be made competent to face the charges, and doctors believe he wouldn't be a danger to society if freed...."
and
"....Relatives of the victims are outraged...."
more at link
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/31/loophole-means-utah-sex-offender-set-freed/
Loophole Means Utah Sex Offender Set to Be Freed
"A convicted sex offender facing nearly two dozen charges of child sex abuse may be soon be set free because doctors says he's no danger to society even though he's not mentally competent for trial.
Lonnie Hyrum Johnson was charged in 2007 in Utah with rape, sodomy and aggravated sexual abuse of a child for alleged acts with his niece and her step-cousin between 2001 and 2006.
Each charge is a first-degree felony. If convicted at a trial, the 38-year-old Johnson would face life sentences for every count. Instead, it appears he will be freed sometime soon after a hearing Thursday afternoon.
Deemed incompetent for trial by a judge in 2008, Johnson has been institutionalized at Utah State Hospital in Provo, about 45 miles north of Salt Lake City, where doctors have been working to restore his mental capacity. But several weeks ago, the judge found that he likely would not be made competent to face the charges, and doctors believe he wouldn't be a danger to society if freed...."
and
"....Relatives of the victims are outraged...."
more at link