Okay. It's clearly been established Mark Ciavarella didn't send kids to a privately run juvenile detention facility in exchange for cash. The government didn't pursue that angle during the trial of the past two weeks. Ciavarella denied it from day one.
That leaves the question "Why?" Why did Ciavarella send hundreds of kids to juvenile detention facilities? Many of those sentences were unwarranted. Why didn't he let them speak in his courtroom? Why didn't he inform them that they had the right to an attorney?
If he didn't do it for the money, why did he do it?
Admittedly, the vast majority of youthful offenders who appeared before Ciavarella did something to get them there. They deserved to be punished in some form. They also deserved what is guaranteed to them by law.
Sending kids away for money would have been wrong, but at least there was a motive.
Why did Ciavarella do it?
One of my favorite lines of all time was uttered by Governor Robert P. Casey. He once said "What did you do when you had the power?" Casey said it to encourage people who had the juice to use it for good. I wonder how Mark Ciavarella would answer that question.
If Ciavarella is Googling himself, killing time and thinking about his crimes, while appealing and waiting to be sentenced, I hope he comes across this blog.
I'll repeat the offer to the former judge that I made here months ago. Any time he wants to talk, I'll be there. Name the time. Name the location. I'm flexible.
The kids deserve an explanation. Their parents deserve an explanation. The people who trusted Mark Ciavarella, the people who voted for him, also deserve an explanation.
We're waiting.
