The price of a plea bargain

This column is about the assault of girls and women. It’s also about a criminal justice system that hits and misses. If federal sentencing guidelines had been followed, you probably would not be reading today about Linwood Barnhill Jr., a convicted sex offender who dirtied his D.C. police badge when he enticed two teenage girls into the prostitution racket that he operated out of his Southeast Washington apartment in 2013. Federal sentencing guidelines recommended nine to 12 years for the counts of pandering of a minor for prostitution and possession of child pornography that he pleaded guilty to. Barnhill, however,...