Creative Sentencing?

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

Maybe you saw this story in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel about a man who was sentenced to a date night.

After an argument that escalated into a domestic violence charge, the defendant was ordered to take his wife out to dinner at Red Lobster and then go bowling afterwards, followed by mandatory marriage counseling.

Just how creative can/should judges get when sentencing those that appear in their courts?

Creative Sentencing: Red Lobster Dinner and Bowling - Law Blog - WSJ

 

[st-kitts]

'Hurley handed down this ruling instead of setting bond or slapping Bray with a prison sentence after he deemed domestic violence charges leveled by Bray's wife to be "very, very minor."

According to Bray's arrest affidavit, Bray and his wife got embroiled in a spat after he failed to wish her a happy birthday. Bray's wife claims that her husband shoved her against a sofa and grabbed her neck.'



I think I want to throw up. First, attempted strangulation (and grabbing the neck is a step in that direction) is one of the factors on the lethality assessment as placing a DV victim at greater risk of murder... That aside, I wonder on what planet this is minor? I mean, does this mean the judge would go out to lunch with a defendent in his courtroom if the defendent got mad and did this to HIM. Sweet God.

Second, all the major research and organizations that advocate for victims advise against marital counseling in DV situations. Marital counseling seeks for each party to understand how they contribute to the marital distress. In DV, this predictably leads to conversations like "if she didn't, then I wouldn't" which essentially places blame on the victim for the abuse. She can't be perfect and it makes him violent. It is her fault. It encourages couples to confront their problems, when in DV confronting problems escalates violence, and finally it leads to retaliation by the abuser if the victim mentions abuse during a counseling session.


I hope this judge is elected, and that he ISN'T elected in the future.

I really don't have words for this one. I wish I hadn't read the post or the article.

Spit.

 

[st-kitts]

And after reading the cheery article on the date night sentencing, I read about the upcoming trial of the UVA Lacrosse DV murder, and there is this jewel:

"Chapman also claimed that Huguely had been violent with Love before. He said that three months before Love's death, friends saw Huguely put Love in a choke hold and that she was very embarrassed about the incident. "

I suppose the FL judge would have considered it minor sentenced Huguely to a date with Love, if the case had even been reported to police. Which it was not...