Religious fanatic sentenced for beating boy

John Kelley - a Cincinnati area man - has just been sentenced to 3 years in prison for repeated beatings of his adopted son, who was 9 when the abuse occurred. The prosecutor said it was the worst case of physical abuse he'd ever seen.

It turns out that Kelley is a religious fanatic who was encouraged to beat the boy by other members of his church. When he was arrested, Kelley arrogantly declared, "You have to spank a child until you see the resistance is broken." Kelley had also taken the boy to a Kroger supermarket and made him wear a sign saying, "I pee on my family if I don't get my way."

Why did any adoption agency place the youngster with a man like this? I don't know if they knew of the man's background, but the unfortunate fact is that many agencies favor zealots like this. Religious extremists are a privileged class in the America of today.

Religious liberty is a constitutional guarantee. But this doesn't give anyone the "right" to abuse children. Adherents of churches that condone outright child abuse should be automatically barred from adopting kids. It's that simple. The well-being of children should be of utmost importance.

We're now seeing the results of a media and government that for many years has willfully mollycoddled extremism. There is blood on the hands of talking heads and public officials who have allowed child abuse to take place.

We are at war. A war against right-wing extremism. A war we cannot afford to lose. We are naturally endowed with the obligation to fight this war at all costs.

In the meantime, I hope John Kelley is beaten bloody in prison.

(Source: http://www.local12.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/father-sentenced-beating-9yearold-son-9696.shtml)