My wife and I were about to spend Shavuot with Mindy Weiner
Weinstein, Wendy Runge's sister. [You cannot make this stuff up] The
stress of the case was wearing hard on the family
And so I
mounted an email campaign. This woman has been victimized along the
lines of Pollard and Rubashkin. She probably should have earned no more
than a "slap on the wrist" and instead they gave her a 10 year sentence
Now this is an Orthodox woman with a frum family. She hails from Omaha and was living in Minnesota. But Iowa treated her as if she were from Brooklyn anyway.
Here are the emails I sent privately....
------------------
Email #1
Dear Rabbi
This is a very sensitive topic
1. My wife and I will be staying this YT with Wendy's sister Mindy Weinstein
2. Wendy's legal troubles are immense and she's seeking financial help
3. Anyone who can help her please do. She got a very tough break - even if guilty.
Good YT
--------------------
In a second email I added:
«He
said the sentence was a difficult decision to make for a woman with no
prior criminal history, but he could not ignore the "complete arrogant
and defiant" way in which she had denied responsibility [sic] for her
crime.»
Wendy Weiner Runge Sentenced To 10 Years - FailedMessiah.com
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2011/05/wendy-weiner-runge-345.html
She has been given a severe sentence after a plea deal
Shades of Rubashkin and Pollard
-------------------
Note:
Failed Messiah was really out to discredit her, but since it was the
easiest link to find on Google, I used it anyway. And even from this
antagonistic post one can see that the sentence was over the top.
Here are several more sympathetic articles
Again, Iowa filmmaker connected to Rubashkin charged
http://www.ijn.com/ijn-news/national/1807-again-iowa-filmmaker-connected-to-rubashkin-charged
--------------------
Wendy Weiner Runge, Iowa Film Maker Gets 10 Years For Attitude | Globe Tribune.Info
http://globetribune.info/2011/05/19/wendy-weiner-runge-iowa-film-maker-gets-10-years-for-attitude/
«Wendy Weiner Runge, Iowa Film Maker Gets 10 Years For Attitude
May 19, 2011
....
Judge Staskal could have imposed a considerably lighter sentence and gotten Ms. Weiner Runge's attention.
....
Ms. Weiner Runge's sentence is grossly disproportionate to the actual offense committed...
.
It would be decent of Judge Staskal to lessen the sentence imposed upon
Ms. Weiner Runge. If he can not or will not do so, a higher court
should correct this case of judicial overkill.»
--------------------
I
know that many have been championing Pollard's cause for many years.
Along those lines, I'm hoping that we can rally some support for a
fellow Jew, whom I believe has been wronged. Not necessarily guiltless,
but certainly treated harshly.
PS - recently a customer told me that they just left Minnesota after 11 years. After mentioning the Runge crisis he noted:
"Our very first Shabbos in Minnesota was at the Runge's. And our very last Shabbos in Minnesota was at the Runge's"
Shalom,
RRW
4 comments:
My feeling is that the comparison to Pollard and Rubashkin is very apt. (And that's not to say I think all three are innocent, all three guilty, or any other comparison other than the ONE I explicitly state below.)
All three relied on politics and the heft of the unified Jewish community. The judicial system doesn't operate that way; and in fact has to show itself to be free of political influence.
Take Rubashkin's case, where it's most clear. The sentencing guidelines for bank fraud call for obsenely high prison terms. Therefore the guidelines are usually ignored. But we politicized his case and so no judge could afford to look like she is bowing to that pressure. And so, he got a sentence near, but not at, the bottom of the recommended range.
A judge responds to a show of contrition, not lots of people shouting. Her showing defiance (whenever not in the courtroom) just made Mrs Runge's problem worse.
And as a "slight side topic"... Meanwhile, you can argue the sentencing, but another bottom line is still that they are criminals our community created, and we should also be looking at how to reduce the number of criminals we produce.
Read this to get some facts from a rabbi very aware of this case (Runge belongs to his shul, and I know him personally):
http://moriyasplace.blogspot.com/2011/06/in-defense-of-wendy-runge.html
The question about the common denominator is simple
Were these three treated more harshly due to their common ethnicity?
This does not address the issue of guilt or innocence. it addresses Yosher and equal justice
IMHO, the answer is "no".
The common outcome isn't the ethnicity itself, but our ethnic group's habit of trying to use political pressure on the judicial process.
But again to my bottom line... As long as we focus on sentencing, and work with the assumption that we're being wronged, that it's us vs them, that the issue is political, we'll just keep on repeating that mistake.
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