Obama's judge pick threatens prosecuter, defends murdering rapist

One of Obama's circuit nominees defended a notorious serial killer and threatened the murderer's prosecuting lawyer. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Chatigny has had his Judiciary Committee hearings put on hold while the matter is investigated.

In 1987, Michael Ross was sentenced to death in Connecticut. Known as the Roadside Strangler, Ross had racked up a body count of eight women, aged between 14 and 25. Ross raped most of the women before he killed them. By his own account, Ross committed his first rape during his senior year of college.

In 2005, after spending eight years on death row, it was announced that Ross would be executed. Chatigny had other ideas.

Chatigny stunned those involved in the serial killer case in early 2005 by pressuring Ross' attorney on a conference call to challenge his scheduled execution even though Ross had said he did not want to fight.

The judge had raised concerns about whether Ross was mentally unfit and whether prison isolation had led to despair -- at the time of the conference call, federal appeals courts had overturned two prior orders from him postponing the execution.

According to a transcript of that Jan. 28 call, the judge threatened to go after the law license of Ross' attorney, T.R. Paulding.

"So I warn you, Mr. Paulding, between now and whatever happens Sunday night, you better be prepared to live with yourself for the rest of your life," Chatigny said. "And you better be prepared to deal with me if in the wake of this an investigation is conducted and it turns out that what Lopez says and what this former program director says is true, because I'll have your law license."

Ramon Lopez was an inmate who had written a letter to Chatigny saying Ross had been brainwashed by mental health professionals.

Chatigny claimed that Ross' life should be spared because of his "sexual sadism" -- even though Ross himself said he wanted to die to ease the sorrow of his victims' families. His feelings were shared by many Connecticuters who protested the state's decision. Connecticut, a deep blue state, didn't take the execution lightly. When Ross was killed, it was the first use of the death penalty in Connecticut, and in the entire New England region, since 1960.

Chatingny's conduct was so outrageous that seven Connecticut prosecutors sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing his nomination to the circuit court. The signers claimed Chatigny "completely abandoned the role of neutral and detached magistrate and instead became an advocate" for Ross' brutal sexual crimes.

Barack Obama thinks he deserves a promotion.