I never thought I would describe Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger as an angel, but I am about to.

Thank goodness someone in the business of protecting us has feelings. It is obvious to me that Assistant District Attorney Russ Karl, District Judge Lewis Stoughton, and state policeman Francis Walters made huge errors in judgement when they agreed to reduce the charges against John Riordan after he allegedly took a sledgehammer to a defenseless dog.

You need to understand that all three of them had to agree to reduce those charges. If ANY of the three had said “You know, I am not comfortable with this,” I do not believe that the charges would have changed. I find it almost unconscionable that these three pillars of justice would have let Riordan off the hook for a potential felony.

This scoundrel, if found guilty, deserves whatever he gets. I find it sad that Karl, Stoughton and Walters apparently thought that taking a sledgehammer to a dog was no big deal.

Shame on them.

Kudos to DA Goldinger who put the charges back on the table, and to the Butler Eagle for running the story, it appears that they do care.

Howie Pentony, Prospect