Child abuse is a serious issue, never something to be taken lightly. So, it is very disturbing when someone in the media makes a call to celebrate a case of assault on a child, as was done by Fox News contributor, Erick Erickson:

I think we should give the employee a medal, not send her to jail.

The case he is referring to is one where an employee at a Dollar General in Wrightsville, Ga, savagely beat a child with a belt. Police reported that videotape of the beating showed the clerk striking the 8 year old 25 times. The cause of such beating? The child threw a cookie at the employee, reportedly for making fun of the child.