Monday morning the remaining charges were dropped against the two 13-year-old boys who were arrested and charged with crimes that would require them to register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives for (stupidly) slapping girls on their butts.

"I believe these youths have now moved from a model of bad behavior in the schools to an opportunity to be advocates for good behavior in the schools -- behavior which promotes respect for other students and their personal and physical and psychological integrity," said Circuit Judge John L. Collins.

If these kids have half a brain, they'll never touch a girl without her written consent for the rest of their lives.

The prosecutor and district attorney appear to have now moved into CYA mode, but do not appear to have learned their lesson.

On Monday, [District Attorney Bradley] Berry and [Prosecutor Debra J.] Markham both called dismissal of the charges a just result.

"We had an obligation when it came to our attention to act in a way we felt was appropriate," Markham said. "I would bring felony charges again in appropriate cases."

Berry said the boys "have been held accountable, they've done things to correct their behavior, and the victims now say they're satisfied."

He said the internal review of how the case was handled will cover "what happened from day one to the end." But he stopped short of conceding that mistakes were made.

"I don't always assume we made the right decisions," he said, "and we don't assume because we've been criticized we made the wrong decisions."

Berry needs to be defeated in the next election and Markham needs to go into an area of law that requires far less common sense.