Cruel and Unusual Punishment – Or Not?
An Ohio woman caught driving on the sidewalk to pass a bus unloading children was sentenced to stand on the side of the street wearing a sign warning about idiots. Was the punishment going too far?
A Cleveland judge recently sentenced a woman to spend an hour on each of two days on the side of the road wearing a sign that read, "Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus." Her crime - driving on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus.
According to a story in Online Athens, the 32-year-old Ohio woman was videoed driving her car on the sidewalk to avoid having to wait behind a school bus offloading students. The judge, who didn’t think she showed enough remorse for her actions, sentenced her to wear the sign. Television stations were reportedly on hand to film the event and motorists honked as they drove past. She also had her license suspended for 30 days and had to pay a $250 fine.
So what do you think? Did the punishment fit the crime? Or is public humiliation not the way to punish people in modern society?
Gary Fox
8:59 am on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
That sentence was too light / too easy
Mitch
9:18 am on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Make her follow behind this same school bus for the entire route before and after school for 30 days.
Edward Lamar Bullock
9:21 am on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Lamar Bullock
What if she had hurt or killed a child getting off the bus?
Sentence was too light / should have got at least 60 days in jail
OBY DUPREE
9:35 am on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
You mean that is ALL???? She could have killed people and she broke the law. How about JAIL time????
Janet Hardy
9:54 am on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
That is not even a slap on the wrist. She should have to stand in front of the school for 90 days wearing that sigh.
John
10:07 am on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
She should be executed
Rebecca McCarthy
10:15 am on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Obviously, the driver had done this kind of moronic move repeatedly. I think she should lose her license for a year and have to do a year of daily community service. Maybe cleaning and washing school buses. She's not alone, though: Georgia leads the country in school bus/boarding/deboarding accidents. Most drivers don't know the law regarding behavior around school buses, but we do know only a reckless dumb bunny would ever drive on a sidewalk.
Martha Hicks Leta
3:34 pm on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
They should do this with drunk drivers, too. Losing the license does nothing. I recently read a local police blotter where 10 of the 17 taffic violations involved people driving whose license had been revoked. One was a drunk woman whose car caught on fire after driving for some distance with two blown out tires. Idiocy knows no bounds. If we can't keep them off the street, at least warn the rest of us so we know who they are.
Doug Wagner
5:20 pm on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Doesn't matter what the fine is, how long the license is suspended, or what kind of sign she is wearing, YOU CAN'T FIX S T U P I D!!!
Tammy Osier
5:49 pm on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
@ Mitch - hahahahahahahahahahahaha! I laughed out loud on that one. @ rebecca- if the judge had her records, why was she not jailed, I wonder? reckless endangerment (only one of what should have been many charges) usually has a pretty stiff penalty.
Tammy Osier
5:52 pm on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Littering laws should have been suspended temporarily in this case as people should be allowed to throw tomatoes and garbage at her. She could have killed somebody. Wishful thinking, I know, but this really makes me mad and should have a stiff penalty.
Greg Preves
8:47 am on Thursday, November 15, 2012
Well if it were me, I would make her life like Groundhog Day , she would relive that day everyday till she got it right. OMG I just had an ugly thought, PEOPLE LIKE THIS ARE ALLOW TO VOTE!!!!!!!
bobby black
10:14 am on Thursday, November 15, 2012
It was obvious from her looks and the remarks of her mother that she was not the least bit remorseful. The sentence wasn't even close to being harsh enough.
YT
11:15 am on Thursday, November 15, 2012
No it was not cruel...in fact the sentence was too light. It should have been at least 7 days wearing the sign, 7 days in jail and license revoked for 1 year. She is stupid for what she did.
Tammy Osier
6:15 pm on Thursday, November 15, 2012
YT - she's not just stupid- she's a criminal and I think she should be treated like one. When she kills someone, I hope the judge can live with his/herself. The fine should have been so stiff she couldn't pay it and then lock her up and get her off the road.