It Beggars Belief

Amy the Fair had this up last night, but this is so mind-blowing it deserves a re-air:

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis has put up a half-million dollars to keep out of jail the priest convicted last week of sodomizing a teenage boy.

Using ten checks with values ranging from $10,000 to $350,000, church officials posted bond for the Rev. Thomas Graham on the same afternoon that jurors recommended that Graham spend 20 years in prison for performing oral sex on the boy in the late 1970s, court records show.

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Has it suddenly become "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time -- but if you're a priest, don't worry...."?

Bernard Huger, an attorney for the archdiocese, said Tuesday that he expected the church would continue to pay for Graham's defense until the conviction is reversed or Graham's appeals are exhausted.

"He's still a priest in the archdiocese. And he does have appeal rights," Huger said.

Graham's criminal lawyer said last week that he would appeal, and Graham has consistently denied the allegations.

But would the diocese pay for the priest's defense if he stole money? Hmmmm.... It's a valid question.

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