Editorial: Humiliating Sentence - WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports

Editorial: Humiliating Sentence

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CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) -

Well, it was national news earlier this month when a Cleveland municipal judge sentenced a local woman to stand on a street corner with a sign proclaiming her as an idiot for driving on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus.

The driver, Shena Hardin, may in fact be an idiot but is this a proper form of legal punishment?

Judge Pinkey Carr thought so and she is one of a growing number of judges locally and around the country who are fans of this kind of humiliation sentencing.

Painesville municipal judge Michael Cicconetti has made something of a career out of the goofy sentences.  

Now, these sentencing stunts usually draw a lot of public and media attention---but just how effective they are is questionable. 

Ms. Hardin essentially thumbed her nose at the judge on the first day of her punishment by listening to music, texting and smoking.

None of which she would have enjoyed had she simply gone to jail. 

Write and let me know what you think.  I'm Bill Applegate and here's the address:

Editorial Response
1717 E. 12th Street
Cleveland, OH 44114

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