A Montana man has been ordered to write “Boys do not hit girls” 5000 times after a brutal assault against his girlfriend.
LA Times (“Judge sentences man to write ‘boys do not hit girls’ 5,000 times“):
The Montana judge who sparked ire by sentencing a former teacher to 30 days in jail for the rape of a 14-year-old girl has ordered a man convicted of punching his girlfriend to write “Boys do not hit girls,” 5,000 times.
District Judge G. Todd Baugh, whose actions in the rape case sparked a national furor and a petition drive to have state officials take disciplinary action, sentenced Pace Anthony Ferguson on Monday to the writing exercise, in addition to six months in jail, for fracturing the woman’s face in three places during an August 2012 argument.
Ferguson, 27, also was ordered to pay $3,800 in medical bills that came as a result of the woman’s injuries.
Baugh told Ferguson to number the list, 1 through 5,000, sign it and mail it to him by May 23, according to the Billings Gazette. The six months in county jail is the maximum allowed sentence for the misdemeanor assault.
While I applaud the sentiment, this is not only an abuse of power but the wrong message. First, the victim was a grown woman, not a girl. Second, it’s illegal to punch people in the face regardless of gender.
I’d strip judges of the power to be creative in their sentencing. The law specifies maximum sentences, usually some combination of jail time and fines; judges shouldn’t be allowed to pile on silly nonsense.
As to the perpetrator, justice was served:
Ferguson made two appearances in court on Monday.
After being sentenced by Baugh, Ferguson appeared before District Judge Gregory R. Todd for a disposition hearing. The judge ruled that Ferguson had violated the terms of his release from prison after a 2003 robbery conviction and ordered the man to spend eight years in state prison.
Sounds like a real piece of work.
