The Honolulu Star Bulletin reports that Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall has granted the request of Rita Makekau, 52, to remain free while she appeals her conviction for brutalizing five children. "Makekau allegedly shoved a broomstick down their throats, held them underwater in the bathtub, pushed them down the stairs and held their hands over a hot stove," reports the paper. Makekau did not deny the assaults, but claimed Biblical justification for not 'sparing the rod.'

Prosecutor Peter Carlisle criticized Judge Crandall. "The case law is incredibly explicit that the only time on an appeal that somebody should be released on bail is [when] there is a meritorious claim...." Makekau's claim that Hawaiian law doesn't apply to her is not even close, says Carlisle.

The Star Bulletin didn't mince words in an editorial on the case. "Giving credence to the wildest claim for Hawaiian separatism, a state judge has turned state law on its head by allowing a convicted child abuser to remain free on bail while awaiting an appellate court's ruling that she is not exempt from the law," says the paper.  "Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall should be reprimanded for her outrageous misconduct in deciding that such an appeal has an ounce of legal merit, and her ruling should be quickly overturned."