Posted on 01/25/2008 2:08:13 PM PST by Libloather
Man who stole from Salvation Army ordered to spend a night homeless
By AP
Friday, January 25, 2008 1:44 PM CST
PAINESVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A judge on Thursday ordered a Salvation Army worker who stole a holiday kettle containing about $250 to spend the night homeless.
Nathen Smith, 28, was to spend the night anywhere but a house, said Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti. Smith was fitted with a GPS device to track his moves.
“My initial reaction was, ’Wow.’ But I don’t think the sentence is too harsh,” said Smith, who expected to spend Thursday night in a homeless shelter. “I can see the judge’s point because what I did, I shouldn’t have done. Now I’ve got to pay the consequences.”
The Salvation Army uses kettle donations to help pay for food, clothing and shelter for the homeless.
Smith, who also received a three-day jail sentence, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of theft.
Smith worked as a bell ringer for the Salvation Army outside a Kmart store. Police arrested him at his mother’s house after a co-worker reported that one of eight kettles was missing.
Heck, volunteers do overnights. One night homeless? Hunger doesn't really hit until after a few days without food. How about a seven day sentence? Seems right.
Dangerous sentence. If the moron goes to a homeless shelter . . . I’ve had homeless tell me they would rather sleep on a grate than a shelter because the grate is safer. Shelter is a collection of addicts and the insane without police supervision.
Heck, I’ve been camping for up to seven weeks at a time. And I did it for recreational purposes, sometimes in winter.
I hate “creative” punishments. If this isn’t “unusual”, constitutionally speaking, I don’t know what is. Just sentence the idiot and quit trying to to draw attention to yourself, Judge.
He sleeps inside and keeps the money?
Doesn’t this take a bed away from someone who really needs it?
I agree. One night is nothing.
Seems to me that all men, or women, should be treated equally. One night isn't equal treatment.
It has already been done. Go, Pepto! /obscure
A man caught with a loaded gun was sent to a morgue to see dead bodies.That would make me MORE likely to carry a loaded gun. :-) After all, having a loaded gun can help prevent that from happening to you or someone you love.
Felony larceny usually requires $500, I think.
I agree. This sentence is a joke. He should have had to cook and clean up the place for a few hundred hours.
Heck, I camped out one winter in Korea. I don't care who you are, that there is funny. ;)
From the article;
“Smith, who also received a three-day jail sentence, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of theft.”
The one night homelessness was in addition.
“If this isn’t “unusual”, constitutionally speaking, I don’t know what is.”
This is one of those deals where a subject is chosen where most would be sympathetic to the judge and wouldn’t want to consider it unusual, unfortunately.
Agree with you, simply because selectively ignoring the cruel and unusual clause is a terrible idea.
They could hand out all night at an after-hours club...
hand out = hang out
I don’t see how the sentence follows either - his problem isn’t that he’s insensitive to the homeless, it’s that he’s a thief.
Doesn’t this take a bed away from someone who really needs it?
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No, he was allowed into the shelter but was not to be given a bed.
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