Ohio judge gives defendants homework assignments

[May 24, 2011]  TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- A judge in Ohio gives defendants what sounds like homework assignments as a part of probation sentences.

Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Stacy Cook in Toledo has ordered offenders to write five-page reports on topics including teen violence, drug use and head injuries.

The judge tells The Blade newspaper her goal is to get defendants thinking about why what they did was wrong and how it hurt others.

The Blade reports Cook has told as many as 30 people to write papers since she took the bench in 2007. She reads all of them and says it seems that the number of writers who've later returned to her court for serious probation violations has been low.

Lawyer Richard Hasbrook agrees with that assessment. He's the public defender in Cook's courtroom.

___

Information from: The Blade, http://www.toledoblade.com/

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.