awwwwwwwwww gee whiz. The Navy won't accept trash from the court system.
I was really close to almost sort of believing your story about your friend and his DWI or the military schpiel.
Judge does not see enlistment as punishment
Teens in animal cruelty case given sentencing option of Navy service
By Chris Amos - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 6, 2007 20:25:20 EST
A Pennsylvania judge who gave two men the option of enlisting in the Navy or spending two years on probation and at least 100 hours working on a farm said he does not see serving in the Navy as punishment.
But a Navy official says neither man will be allowed to enlist ? at least until their sentences are completed.
Navy spokesman Mike McLellan said that Navy regulations bar the enlistment of people on probation, as both Chris Jabco and Eric Smith, two teens convicted of conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals, are now on.
?Personally, I reject the notion that joining the Navy is punishment,? McLellan said in a statement released Monday. ?The Navy, as is every other branch of the U.S. military service, is a volunteer force. Those who [serve] do so with a sense of pride and patriotism.?
The judge who sentenced the two, Center County Court of Common Pleas Judge Bradley Lunsford, said he agreed.
?I don?t look at the military as a dumping ground for our trash,? he said. ?The military is not a sentence. It is a career.?
In fact, Lunsford said he never would have mentioned the Navy as an option if Jabco and Smith hadn?t told court officials ? without being asked or prompted ? that they were interested in joining.
Lunsford said he was not happy with options to deal with Jabco and Smith, both 19, under state sentencing guidelines and in light of the circumstances: Jabco, Smith and another man got drunk and went looking for a deer to shoot last September; when they were unable to find a deer, they decided instead to shoot a cow, a Scottish Highland steer worth $3,500.
Jabco and Smith were each charged with conspiracy for participating in the act. Another judge sentenced the triggerman to two years? probation earlier this year. All three cow-shooters were ordering pay a third of the animal?s value as restitution.
?I determined that what the commonwealth was recommending to me was not appropriate,? Lunsford said. ?I don?t think it adequately addressed the gravity of the offense of the rehabilitative needs of the offenders.?
So Lunsford offered Jabco and Smith four options: two days in jail, two years? probation, and 100 hours working with livestock; two years? probation and 200 hours working with livestock; pick another judge, or join the Navy.
Lunsford said giving Jabco and Smith incentive to enlist would benefit them and the Navy.
?These young men made a terrible choice, but they were not bad kids,? he said. ?Afterwards, they did the right thing. They fully confessed ? they had not been disciplinary problems in school, they were not prior offenders, and they had a desire to serve in the military.
?I think that these are kids who, if they had some structure and discipline, I think a lot of these qualities would come to the surface,? he continued. ?Just the fact that they expressed a desire to serve their country is a first step in their rehabilitation. I don?t look at the military as an entity designed to rehabilitate offenders. A person needs to rehabilitate themselves. But I think with some structure and responsibility, these kids could do well. They are at a turning point, and I think you will find two good sailors.
Jim Bryant, a lawyer who represented both Jabco and Smith, supported the judge?s decision.
?I think it was an appropriate and innovative resolution to a bad situation,? he said. ?This was a case of young adult stupidity.?
If the two men are not allowed to join the Navy or another military service branch, they will have to perform community service and be on probation, Lunsford said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
I was really close to almost sort of believing your story about your friend and his DWI or the military schpiel.
Judge does not see enlistment as punishment
Teens in animal cruelty case given sentencing option of Navy service
By Chris Amos - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 6, 2007 20:25:20 EST
A Pennsylvania judge who gave two men the option of enlisting in the Navy or spending two years on probation and at least 100 hours working on a farm said he does not see serving in the Navy as punishment.
But a Navy official says neither man will be allowed to enlist ? at least until their sentences are completed.
Navy spokesman Mike McLellan said that Navy regulations bar the enlistment of people on probation, as both Chris Jabco and Eric Smith, two teens convicted of conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals, are now on.
?Personally, I reject the notion that joining the Navy is punishment,? McLellan said in a statement released Monday. ?The Navy, as is every other branch of the U.S. military service, is a volunteer force. Those who [serve] do so with a sense of pride and patriotism.?
The judge who sentenced the two, Center County Court of Common Pleas Judge Bradley Lunsford, said he agreed.
?I don?t look at the military as a dumping ground for our trash,? he said. ?The military is not a sentence. It is a career.?
In fact, Lunsford said he never would have mentioned the Navy as an option if Jabco and Smith hadn?t told court officials ? without being asked or prompted ? that they were interested in joining.
Lunsford said he was not happy with options to deal with Jabco and Smith, both 19, under state sentencing guidelines and in light of the circumstances: Jabco, Smith and another man got drunk and went looking for a deer to shoot last September; when they were unable to find a deer, they decided instead to shoot a cow, a Scottish Highland steer worth $3,500.
Jabco and Smith were each charged with conspiracy for participating in the act. Another judge sentenced the triggerman to two years? probation earlier this year. All three cow-shooters were ordering pay a third of the animal?s value as restitution.
?I determined that what the commonwealth was recommending to me was not appropriate,? Lunsford said. ?I don?t think it adequately addressed the gravity of the offense of the rehabilitative needs of the offenders.?
So Lunsford offered Jabco and Smith four options: two days in jail, two years? probation, and 100 hours working with livestock; two years? probation and 200 hours working with livestock; pick another judge, or join the Navy.
Lunsford said giving Jabco and Smith incentive to enlist would benefit them and the Navy.
?These young men made a terrible choice, but they were not bad kids,? he said. ?Afterwards, they did the right thing. They fully confessed ? they had not been disciplinary problems in school, they were not prior offenders, and they had a desire to serve in the military.
?I think that these are kids who, if they had some structure and discipline, I think a lot of these qualities would come to the surface,? he continued. ?Just the fact that they expressed a desire to serve their country is a first step in their rehabilitation. I don?t look at the military as an entity designed to rehabilitate offenders. A person needs to rehabilitate themselves. But I think with some structure and responsibility, these kids could do well. They are at a turning point, and I think you will find two good sailors.
Jim Bryant, a lawyer who represented both Jabco and Smith, supported the judge?s decision.
?I think it was an appropriate and innovative resolution to a bad situation,? he said. ?This was a case of young adult stupidity.?
If the two men are not allowed to join the Navy or another military service branch, they will have to perform community service and be on probation, Lunsford said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
