One day after the State Supreme Court ruled that the thousands of cases former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella handled were tainted and will be voided, there is outcry from victims of juvenile crimes.
It took just moments for Janet Ebert's Slocum Township farm to go up in flames. Her barn was destroyed, the roof of her home damaged, and a nearby grainary singed back in 2005.
Police arrested and charged two juveniles for the crime. Ebert says both were sent to a detention center by former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella.
"I thought he was very fair, in some of the cases I saw that day, I thought he had a very hard job to do," said Ebert.
The State Supreme Court decided Friday to vacate the rulings made in more than six-thousand juvenile cases. The Court said Ciavarella was taking money in exchange for sending some juveniles to detention centers, so none of his decisions should stand.
"It's totally wrong. You're now teaching children they can do what they want to do and get away with it. This is totally insane of the Supreme Court. Each one of those cases should have been looked at individually," said Ebert.
Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll says the records of thousands of juveniles will be wiped clean and some will be released from detention. But she does have about one-hundred open cases to sift through to decide if any are worth trying again.
"We simply can't take the victims who were harmed by serious crimes, heinous crimes in many cases, and just turn our head. Anything an adult can do, a juvenile can do you would be so surprised to see the things that some kids get into," said Carroll.
Ebert said she cannot stop thinking that the people responsible for destroying her farm have gotten off the hook.
"These were not harmless little children, some of them were vicious criminals. "
It took just moments for Janet Ebert's Slocum Township farm to go up in flames. Her barn was destroyed, the roof of her home damaged, and a nearby grainary singed back in 2005.
Police arrested and charged two juveniles for the crime. Ebert says both were sent to a detention center by former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella.
"I thought he was very fair, in some of the cases I saw that day, I thought he had a very hard job to do," said Ebert.
The State Supreme Court decided Friday to vacate the rulings made in more than six-thousand juvenile cases. The Court said Ciavarella was taking money in exchange for sending some juveniles to detention centers, so none of his decisions should stand.
"It's totally wrong. You're now teaching children they can do what they want to do and get away with it. This is totally insane of the Supreme Court. Each one of those cases should have been looked at individually," said Ebert.
Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll says the records of thousands of juveniles will be wiped clean and some will be released from detention. But she does have about one-hundred open cases to sift through to decide if any are worth trying again.
"We simply can't take the victims who were harmed by serious crimes, heinous crimes in many cases, and just turn our head. Anything an adult can do, a juvenile can do you would be so surprised to see the things that some kids get into," said Carroll.
Ebert said she cannot stop thinking that the people responsible for destroying her farm have gotten off the hook.
"These were not harmless little children, some of them were vicious criminals. "
