Court rewrites story with better ending

I love it when bad stories have good endings. And just in time for the holidays, we have just such a story. It's hard to know where to begin. A St. Louis area woman was found guilty in 2003 of "renting" her 9-year-old daughter to a neighbor for sex. For $20, this slimy woman would sometimes hold her daughter down while a neighbor molested her. Court records show she "rented" her daughter at least 200 times to a known pedophile.

She was originally sentenced to 17 years in prison but appealed. Her sentence was reduced to 10 years. But this time it was the prosecution who appealed. They felt - as anyone would - that the 10-year sentence was far too light. And by golly, an appeals court has agreed that the 10-year term was too lenient. The woman will likely get a surprise when she appears in court. Either way, she'll remain in prison for quite a long time.

The pedophile is serving a 15-year sentence for his role in the terrible episode. But it's the mother who should pay a higher price and now it looks like she likely will.

The woman's lawyer says she suffers from mental illness and drug addiction. That's the best excuse he could use to justify her bizarre, sick behavior. But to "rent" your young daughter out for sex goes well over society's invisible line of behavior. We can only hope she rots in a prison cell somewhere and that her daughter is able to erase some tragic memories.

The woman thought she could persuade the court that her sentence was too severe. Instead, the court used common sense and said her sentence was too lenient. That is a good ending to a bad story in my book.