Ohio Judge Assigns Homework Essays to Offenders on Probation
Some offenders in Ohio have an added requirement with their probation: They have homework papers.
Judge Stacy Cook has required as many as 30 offenders to write the essays, usually five pages in length, the Toledo Blade reports. Topics include the effect of head injuries sustained from violent blows, and how alcohol and guns put youths at risk.
Cook tells the newspaper she hopes the reports will help the defendants recognize their errors. “From years of practicing law, I felt that there was a huge missing link in getting people to understand what they did wrong, not just in committing the crime but where there was error in judgment,” she told the newspaper.
University of Toledo professor Morris Jenkins told the Blade his juvenile court research has shown alternative sentences can be effective. “I’m glad that we have a judge with foresight and courage to do [alternative sentencing] with adult offenders,” he said. “By making them do something like a paper, I guarantee they’ll remember it later.”
