Top 3 Odd Punishments For Crimes
Sometimes, jail just doesn't get the message across. We see people go to jail, get out, and go right back in for another crime. Maybe, they need more creative punishments.
Former NFL player, Darren Sharper, may have the oddest probation condition we've ever seen. Sharper pled guilty to several rapes in several states. He has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, but may only have to serve nine. Don't think he's getting off easy though. Once released from prison, Sharper will be on probation for the rest of his life. As a condition of probation, he must take sex offender counseling and is prohibited from drinking alcohol, visiting bars, or using the internet for sexual gratification.
Oh yeah, and he must also submit to a "penile plethysmograph." A penile plethysmograph is a sensor, attached to the penis, which measures a person's arousal and reactions to sexual images. Reports are unclear on what will happen if Sharper does show arousal. Will he get a shock every time he reacts to an image? Will he be sent back to prison? Regardless, a penile plethysmograph is probably preferable to spending more years in prison.
While Sharper's probation requirements are the oddest we've seen,here are three other weird sentences:
1. Into The Woods
One Ohio woman was convicted of abandoning 35 kittens in the park. The judge gave the woman a choice: 90 days in jail, or 14 days in jail, 15 days under house arrest, $3,200 donation to the Humane Society, $500 donation to the park rangers who found the kittens, and spend one lonely night in the woods.
She chose the night in the woods. She was to be dropped off in the woods with no food, no reading materials, and only the clothes she wore on her back. Because the weather was really cold, the judge mercifully allowed her to make a fire.
Apparently, this wasn't the judge's first odd sentence. He previously ordered a man who called police officers "pigs" to stand on a corner with a 350-pound pig and a sign that read, "This is not a police officer." I'd say he got off easy. The judge could have ordered him to buy the police department donuts!
2. Public Shaming
Ohio seems to like oddball sentences. One woman was convicted for driving on a sidewalk to get around a bus. Her punishment was to stand on a street corner holding a sign that read "Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus."
3. Bye Bye Baby
Endanger your child? Lose the right to have any more! One man reduced his three year prison sentence for child endangerment to only one year on the condition that he also gets a vasectomy! Ouch.
Isn't this kind of forced sterilization cruel and unusual punishment? I don't know about cruel, but it's apparently not unusual. Another father, also from Ohio, was ordered to not have any more children until he paid off $100,000 in unpaid child support.
Considering these crazy requirements, it might be easier just to spend the time in jail. But, who knows, maybe it'll actually make criminals think twice before committing the crime.
Related Resources:
- 10 things to know about Darren Sharper's plea deal settling rape charges (NOLA)
- Defendant's Probation Agreement: Send 780 Postcards to Victim's Dad (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
- Thief Sentenced to Hold Shaming Sign for 6 Years (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
- Dad Ticketed for Saving Son, Not His Jeep, From Rolling Off Cliff (FindLaw's Legally Weird)