Pa. judge sentences 3 men to learn English or go to jail

[CactusCarlos]

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-03272008-1509822.html

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - An eastern Pennsylvania judge known for creative sentencing has ordered three men to learn English or go to jail.

Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. said the men, who faced prison for criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, can remain on parole if they learn to read and write English, earn their GEDs and get full-time jobs.

Olszewski noted that the three men, Luis Reyes, Ricardo Dominguez and Rafael Guzman-Mateo, plus a fourth defendant, Kelvin Reyes-Rosario, all needed translators in court when they pleaded guilty Tuesday.

The four, ranging in age from 17 to 22, were in a group that police said accosted two men on a Wilkes-Barre 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.

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

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, acknowledged that the ruling was good for his client, Guzman-Mateo.

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

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.

The judge noted that no one objected to the sentences on Tuesday.

If anyone thinks learning English is not a good thing, he said, "I'd love to hear from them."

Olszewski said it would help the men get a GED, and a job.

"Do you think we are going to supply you with a translator all of your life?" he asked them in court.

Olszewski is known for outside-the-box sentencing.

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.

In this case, Olszewski said, "There's no way young kids can be hurt by knowing how to read and write the English language."

[Uhhuh35]

You know it's interesting. When I was in Japan I applied for jobs and learned the language. It never occurred to me to rob the locals.
There is one reason they don't know the English language: They're Illegal Aliens. A fact not mentioned in this illegal alien sob story.
Why would anyone want these people to stay here even after they learned English? They robbed a person, they were looking for marijuana, and they told their victim to stay off the block in his own neighborhood. They don't care about our language or culture, just kick them out.
"In this case, Olszewski said, "There's no way young kids (Kids, my ass!) can be hurt by knowing how to read and write the English language.".
Bullshit. People commit crimes using the English language every day. This story makes the Judge look tough but he's not. These ass hats chose to be criminals the day they broke into our country. Send em' back!

[Chris_]

That's my kind of judge! 

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Although poetic justice can oft-times make us grin I'm dead-set against creative sentencing. The law prescribes the penalty for those violating it, i.e. we've all, at one time or another, had to fill out a form of some sort that says falsifying info is a felony punishable by imprisonment up to 10 years and a fine not to exceed $10,000.

If we as conservatives rail against judicial dictat when it comes to Roe v Wade, Lawrence v Texas, etc then we must hold true and tell judges to judge according to the law, not their private morality coupled with a sense of humor.

A MAJOR part of having the legislature--the duly elected representatives of We The People--set a penalty is not only to exact the retribution We The People feel is sufficient recompense for a given offense but also to stave off excesses that We The People feel exceed the nature of the crime. We call shoplifting under $100 a misdemeanor ebcause to treat it as a 1st class felony seems excessive to us and while we despise the shoplifter we feel it undue to send him to prison for 25 to life. We The people must decide such matters, not some judge who can only be removed only by overcoming by the Herculean hurdles of impeachment.

Liberty demands it.