jnelsoninjax Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 In a first of its kind judgement, a judge in the US sentenced a woman to walk over 30 miles-- the same distance of the taxi fare she had ditched. In Lake County, Ohio, Judge Michael Cicconetti is known for giving people a taste of their own medicine and he delivered two such verdicts recently. In the first case, prosecutors said Victoria Bascom called a cab to take her from Cleveland to Painesville. After arriving at her destination, she bailed without paying. Bascom was found guilty and Judge Cicconetti gave her a sentence of her choice: either to serve 60 days in the Lake County Jail or walk 30 miles within 48 hours because that was the distance the taxi drove her. Bascom chose the latter. Bascom was also sentenced to four months probation and ordered to pay United Cab USD 100 in restitution, WOIO-TV reported. "What would you do if you didn't have a cab?" Cicconetti asked Bascom. "Walk," Bascom responded. "So I think it's only appropriate that you walk 30 miles (48.2 km)," the Painesville Municipal Court judge said. In another judgement delivered on Thursday, judge Cicconetti gave 20-year-old Diamond Gaston, who sprayed a person with pepper spray at Burger King, two options. "He said either 30 days in jail or take a shot of mace to your face and I said I will just opt for the mace," Gaston was quoted as saying by WKYC-TV. But even the unusual judge Cicconetti knew he could not make his punishment sting that much so the can had no pepper spray, just water. "I think it was the anticipation, the fear of it," said Cicconetti. "Knowing or believing it was going to be pepper spray was enough to say ok." "He's like 'Oh it's water' and I'm like 'Oh okay, that's a relief'," said Gaston. "Nothing illegal. I wouldn't do anything illegal. Will there be maybe some public feedback or whatever? I don't care I do whatever I think is right," said Cicconetti, justifying his orders. "I do whatever I think will prevent a person from coming back in the courts again. Yeah it's a little different. It's a little unique, but maybe we just need that a little bit in the judicial system," he said. In the past, Cicconetti has sentenced a drunken driver to view bodies of car crash victims in the morgue and in 2002, he sentenced a man who had called a police officer a "pig" during a confrontation to stand in the street with a large pig, and a sign that read "this is not a police officer". Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timster Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 In the past, Cicconetti has sentenced a drunken driver to view bodies of car crash victims in the morgue and in 2002, he sentenced a man who had called a police officer a "pig" during a confrontation to stand in the street with a large pig, and a sign that read "this is not a police officer". those are some weak sentences. Nogib 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDboyz Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Hahah I love this judge. We should have more of this one. So if the rapist gets arrested, he can either be in prison for long time, or cut it off .... lol ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Gibs Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 those are some weak sentences.Why? I think drunk drivers are the scum of the earth but what does throwing them in jail or fining them do? 5 days in prison won't solve anything. American prisons don't exactly rehabilitate anyone but showing them car crash victims and making them take alcohol treatment courses tcould possibly cause far more of an impact: Cicconetti, who is known for his unusual sentencings, gave Tarase, 27, of Kirtland, a choice Tuesday. Serve five days in jail or perform two tasks: view the bodies of two victims of fatal accidents and take a three-day alcohol treatment course. As for calling a police officer a pig, well do you want him thrown in jail for that? Dick Montage 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timster Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Why? I think drunk drivers are the scum of the earth but what does throwing them in jail or fining them do? American prisons don't exactly rehabilitate anyone but showing them car crash victims could possibly cause far more of an impact. As for calling a police officer a pig, well do you want him thrown in jail for that? drunk drivers should lose their freedom, not just be shown some dead people and get sent home where they can just drive drunk again Nogib 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xilo Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 drunk drivers should lose their freedom, not just be shown some dead people and get sent home where they can just drive drunk again Well, being thrown in jail isn't a very good punishment. It sucks, but it's not a strong deterrent unless you go to prison for a lengthy time (which also costs tax payer dollars). Hard work you aren't used to doing, humiliation, etc can be more effective for misdemeanor charges especially for offenders without a history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Its called alternative sentencing and its rather common in these parts for some crimes. Some of our judges are extremely creative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noir Angel Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Hahah I love this judge. We should have more of this one. So if the rapist gets arrested, he can either be in prison for long time, or cut it off .... lol ... So using that same logic, a woman that falsely accuses a man of raping her should be raped? Thought not. What is it with people and their stupidly violent fantasies these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noir Angel Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Though I'd like to see them serve the same as the man would get had he been found guilty, I'm not a fan of "creative" sentencing when it steps over into actual violence. Making someone walk 30 miles, while not technically violent, is a stressful thing to put them through. DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typhoon87 Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 I think if these somewhat unique sentences work for more minor crimes why not. Not sure if this would work for more serious crimes but what they heck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anibal P Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 So using that same logic, a woman that falsely accuses a man of raping her should be raped? Thought not. What is it with people and their stupidly violent fantasies these days? Your leap in judgment does not fly here, even the Judge says he uses creative sentencing for low level crimes where the creative punishment will do what he needs it to do, make the person in question realize their actions have repercussions, no one wants to believe that these days so it works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noir Angel Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Your leap in judgment does not fly here, even the Judge says he uses creative sentencing for low level crimes where the creative punishment will do what he needs it to do, make the person in question realize their actions have repercussions, no one wants to believe that these days so it works Right, forcing someone to walk 30 miles in less than 48 hours, something that could cause heatstroke, heart attack, and plenty of other reactions is obviously a proportional response to a taxi firm potentially losing 20 bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theyarecomingforyou Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 This is the same judge that ordered a woman spend a night in the woods alone without food or water, which is a clear violation of basic human rights. These sorts of judgements make a mockery of the criminal justice system. If this judge wants a creative outlet he should join a marketing company or become a comedian. PS - Wouldn't this come under 'cruel and unusual punishment'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Right, forcing someone to walk 30 miles in less than 48 hours, something that could cause heatstroke, heart attack, and plenty of other reactions is obviously a proportional response to a taxi firm potentially losing 20 bucks. Oh please. Hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people run marathons each year in under 7-8 hours. You're not going to get a heart attack for walking 30 miles. And she has 48 hours. You could easily split that up -- 6 miles before work in the morning, 2 miles at lunch, 7 miles at night and repeat. I'm a fan of creative sentencing. Fines don't do much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Right, forcing someone to walk 30 miles in less than 48 hours, something that could cause heatstroke, heart attack, and plenty of other reactions is obviously a proportional response to a taxi firm potentially losing 20 bucks. The average person walks ~6 miles a day in their normal (often too sedentary) activities, so in reality we're talking 24 miles over 2 days or 12 miles a day. If you can't pull that extra bit off you'd better go see a physician anyhow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praetor Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 reminds me of this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theyarecomingforyou Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Oh please. Hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people run marathons each year in under 7-8 hours. That's because they choose to and train for it. Lots of people enter professional eating competitions but that doesn't mean it's sensible to order someone to eat sixty hot dogs in two hours as punishment for not paying at a restaurant. This isn't about justice, it's about the judge relishing all the attention he receives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 That's because they choose to and train for it. Lots of people enter professional eating competitions but that doesn't mean it's sensible to order someone to eat sixty hot dogs in two hours as punishment for not paying at a restaurant. This isn't about justice, it's about the judge relishing all the attention he receives. The punishment seems fair though. How many people get tickets (in her case theft of services) pay off the piddly $200-300 fine and are repeat offenders? She'll never forget the days she had to walk 30 miles. And unless the woman was morbidly obese or a pre-existing health issue, she would physically be capable of it. DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noir Angel Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Oh please. Hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people run marathons each year in under 7-8 hours. You're not going to get a heart attack for walking 30 miles. And she has 48 hours. You could easily split that up -- 6 miles before work in the morning, 2 miles at lunch, 7 miles at night and repeat. I'm a fan of creative sentencing. Fines don't do much. And millions more don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torolol Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 30 miles within 48 hours are quite light, assuming she only use 8 hours/day to do the walk, that means 30 miles in 16 hours, which less than 2 miles in 1 hour, or about 165 feet/min, or about 50.3 meter/min. heh, you didn't even need to be an athlete to walk that much. The Evil Overlord 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Overlord Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Some posts are missing? What happened? A good point was made earlier... Something to do with false accusations and the repercussions, thereof. +Warwagon 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arachno 1D Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 To be frank I think the Judges sentences are quite pertinent and should happen more often even the walking 30 miles and yes Im sure the Juge took into consideration the ability of the defendent to complete the task. This said they can quite easily elect for the sentence the walk is not mandatory in any way. There are many reoffenders in the UK that get court and injury fines paying them off over many weeks because they are according to records "out of work".This approach fails either to stop them reoffending or to repay the fines in many cases so its just a merry go round of wasted court time. There are too many people who take up courts time in elongated cases and at no small expense on the tax payers housing them in penal penitentiary when a short sharp lesson would get a better result. +Raze 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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