My kind of judge: "Judge Sentences Three Men to Learn English or Go to Jail"

We need that judge around here, from Franklin County to Lauderdale County!!!

I agree Tac, it would solve a lot of problems we have in our area !!

Finally, a judge with some common sense!!! He actually believes in rehabilitation for those who need it and can do it.

Does anyone know the rate of recidivism for this judge's "unusual" sentencing?

i just pray they don't find a 'reason' to get rid of him!!

I think this Judge deserves an award! Let's make this guy PRESIDENT!!!!!

I'm just curious if you like this judge because he's easy on criminals or because he is requiring the criminals to learn English. If it's the latter, I don't think that his issue is with Spanish. It's clear that he wants the criminals to be able to function and contribute to the society in which they live, and the best way they can do that is by getting the GED, which will allow them to get a job. He is not requiring them to quit speaking Spanish.

I agree with Mandomamma that rehabilitation is a good thing, but these sentences seem sort of light for a violent crime.

In no way am I suggesting that violent criminals be given a slap on their wrists and sent on their merry ways. But I do realize that crime/bad choices are not always black and white.

My next door neighbors are a perfect example. The mom and dad had both been in rehab for drugs and alcohol. They have 3 boys, now ages 9-17. They divorce a couple of years ago and everything falls apart. Dad and Mom start back partying, boys are shuffled back and forth- neither parent wants them. Mom is killed in a fiery car crash and the boys whole world fall even further apart. Oldest 2 boys are arrested (ages 16 & 12) for breaking into a house while high. They were already in alternative school for failing drug tests. The younger is now spending the next year at a treatment facility. The oldest is being treated (for now) as an adult. I don't know what will happen to him. While these boys are taught right from wrong in school and from their elderly grandparents who are doing all they can to help them, they are still making terrible choices. I have no idea of the dad's involvement any more. I rarely see him at his house any more. The grandparents have taken over. We do not live in subsidized housing; we live in a gated, golf-course community.

I am praying that the treatment that the young man is receiving will be what he needs. This is a sweet kid who is terribly heartbroken and depressed. I watched him go from a normal, football playing, skateboarding 9 year old to a 12 year old who sneaks out at 11 pm to get high.

Some people who come before a judge do need a firm hand and creative discipline. The judge needs to draw a line in the sand but offer them hope for a better future. I'm not talking about violent, dangerous criminals. I'm talking about kids/adults who have started down a dangerous. dead end path and are not too far gone yet. If we as society can rehab them and point them in the right direction, then our communities and nation as a whole will be better off.

quote:

The four, ranging in age from 17 to 22, were in a group that police said accosted two men on a street in May. The two said they were asked if they had marijuana, told to empty their pockets, struck on the head, threatened with a gun and told to stay off the block.

Attorneys for the men said they were studying the legality of the ruling and had not decided whether to appeal. One of the attorneys, Ferris Webby, suggested that the ruling was good for his client, Guzman-Mateo.

"My client is happy," Webby said. "I think it's going to help him."

The judge sentenced the four men to jail terms of four to 24 months. But he gave the three men, who already had served at least four months, immediate parole. Reyes-Rosario remains imprisoned on an unrelated drug charge.

Olszewski ordered the three to return with their parole officers in a year and take an English test. "If they don't pass, they're going in for the 24 (months)," he said.

Is this a light sentence? I don't know, but I remember that at one point in Texas when a person got 3 years, he really got three months if he behaved (called good behavior in prison). I like this part the best where the person must prove he or she has fulfilled the sentence: "If they don't pass, they're going in for the 24 (months)." Is that light?

Regarding this statement, "I'm just curious if you like this judge because he's easy on criminals or because he is requiring the criminals to learn English.” I think it is good that this judge is ordering the non English-speaking people to learn English. I don't think he is picking on Spanish speaking people. What he is doing is helping the person fit into life in the United States and trying to help get them on the right path of lawfulness as opposed to unlawfulness. He is helping those people! If those people are put in jail (and the sentence is apparently 4 to 24 months for that crime in that area), they could already be out on the streets doing the same thing again since they had already served 4 months in jail - jails are over crowded. At least the judge is attempting to rehabilitate these young people.

Notice he also attempts to help school dropouts: "He has ordered young defendants who are school dropouts to finish school. He often orders defendants to get full-time employment. But he also has his staff coordinate with an employment agency to help them find the jobs."

This judge is a good guy! We need more of these types of sentences. It won't work for everyone, but I believe it can help many!

We need more judges like this one for sure.

I also agree with Mandomamma that rehabilitation is a good thing, but these sentences seem sort of light for a violent crime.

If you were BORN in the USA -- MOST LIKELY you speak English, so apparently these guys are not from the States and are here legally/illegally...therefore, if you want to be able to function in this society -- learn to speak the language...if they are here illegally once their sentence is completed they will be deported and if they are here legally -- if they can speak the language they will be more able to become functioning members of society like hold down a job, get their GED...