With Josh Getting Nearly 13 Years in Prison, Jim Bob Duggar's Career Ends

     151 months. 12 years and seven months. That's how long Josh Duggar can look forward to seeing the inside of a jail cell. The guilty verdict against Duggar back in December was a huge victory, as is the lengthy prison sentence. However, it could have been much better. Originally, Duggar was convicted of receipt and possession of child pornography with a maximum of 40 years in prison, and, as such, the government wanted a sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Just before sentencing, though, a judge tossed out the possession conviction after an appeal from Duggar's legal team, meaning he was only sentenced on the possession and only faced a maximum of 20 years. Mr. Duggar's case was among the worst child sexual abuse material possession cases prosecutors have ever seen, involving the torture and rape of babies. That's on top of Duggar's history of molesting his own sisters and being exposed cheating on his wife during the Ashley Madison scandal.

     While religion is usually an off-limits topic, this case, if anything, helps expose the sickness and glaring hypocrisy of obedience to any religion. Aside from the fact that Duggar is a devout Christian being caught committing the worst crimes any human being can commit, his family (aside from the sisters he victimized) have refused to give up on him, giving him chance after chance since they first learned about his predilections 20 years ago. Even Duggar's wife has forgiven him: according to their religion, Duggar molesting his sisters (and probably his kids), cheating on his wife, and viewing horrible child sexual abuse material is a mortal sin that can be forgiven, but Duggar's wife divorcing him is an unforgiveable act that would send her to Hell. According to the family as well as Josh himself, gay marriage is also an unforgiveable sin, as is abortion. Talk about priorities.

     That is why it always irks me when people express sympathy for the families of criminals, i.e. they couldn't have known this was happening and now it has ruined their lives. In this case, Jim Bob Duggar knew while he and the rest of the family have stood by Josh. Most families of criminals, especially in sex crimes cases, just can't bring themselves to believe that their relative would be capable of such a thing, and, if they stop denying it, they forgive and continue to support that person emotionally and sometimes even financially. That was a large part of the reason their show glorifying overpopulation was cancelled after Josh's arrest and a large part of the reason Jim Bob Duggar lost his primary for a seat in the Arkansas Senate. Even in a ruby red state, what Jim Bob Duggar tolerated, aided, and abetted crossed a line. He deserves to pay every bit as much as his pedophile son does.

     Duggar has no possibility of parole, meaning he will stay behind bars until he is 47 years old. He can then look forward to 20 years of probation with lifetime registration as a sex offender. His wife may have chosen to stay married to him for now, but Josh will now get to have his kids grow up without him and will not be allowed to be alone with a child, own an electronic device, view pornography, or do a litany of other things once he is released. A fitting punishment for a man who has ruined so many lives, or at least as close one can come to a fitting punishment for a crime that inflicts lifelong suffering on its survivors.