President Obama’s nominee to the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Robert N. Chatigny, has quite the judicial record. He saved Michael Ross, known as the ‘roadside strangler’, by keeping him off death row while citing Ross’s sexual sadism as a mitigating factor. Keep the following statement in mind made by Judge Chatigny on Ross’ case as you’re watching the video:
"But looking at the record in a light most favorable to Mr. Ross, he never should have been convicted. Or if convicted, he never should have been sentenced to death because his sexual sadism, which was found by every single person who looked at him, is clearly a mitigating factor... He can sit on his hands and sit mute and he may find not only that the death sentence is set aside, he may find the death penalty has been abolished. He may find that he gets the life sentence that he has repeatedly said he would take in an instant if it was offered to him."
According to an article written by the American Spectator, Chatigny "bullied Ross’s lawyer against his clients on will" during a conference call.
In this conference call, Chatigny bullied Ross's attorney into ignoring his client's own wishes and seeking a stay of execution. The transcript of the conference call shows that Chatigny repeatedly referred to Ross's attorney as "facilitating" or "bringing about" Ross's execution. Reading the transcript, it's as if Chatigny does not even acknowledge that Ross's own actions, the rape and murder of multiple women, are the cause of his execution.
Michael Ross confessed to the murders of 8 young women, 7 of which were raped. The following is a chilling video of Republican Senators questioning Judge Chatigny, comments from Michael Ross, and comments from those involved in the case (WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT):
“The biggest thrill sexually is from thoughts of strangling a woman. When I first came up here, I would relive murders with young girls that I killed. I would relive them multiple times, and masturbate to these thoughts to the point of actually having sores on myself. I used them. I degraded them. Leslie Shelley has always bothered me more than the others. I think it was because she was so smart, I think it’s because she was so cooperative, and I think it was because the way she was killed was so close to my fantasy- that was the one that was- I raped her and I killed her. It wasn't pleasant, it wasn't a nice rape."– Michael Ross