Thread: PA: Judge Sentences Three Men to Learn English or Go to Jail

I presume they are not illegal immigrants....

Throw the Book at 'Em: Judge Sentences Three Men to Learn English or Go to Jail

Thursday, March 27, 2008

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — A judge known for creative sentencing has ordered three Spanish-speaking men to learn English or go to jail.

The men, who faced prison for criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, can remain on parole if they learn to read and write English, earn their GEDs and get full-time jobs, Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. said.

The men, Luis Reyes, Ricardo Dominguez and Rafael Guzman-Mateo, plus a fourth defendant, Kelvin Reyes-Rosario, all needed translators when they pleaded guilty Tuesday.

"Do you think we are going to supply you with a translator all of your life?" the judge asked them.

The four, ranging in age from 17 to 22, were in a group that police said accosted two men on a street in May. The two said they were asked if they had marijuana, told to empty their pockets, struck on the head, threatened with a gun and told to stay off the block.

Attorneys for the men said they were studying the legality of the ruling and had not decided whether to appeal. One of the attorneys, Ferris Webby, suggested that the ruling was good for his client, Guzman-Mateo.

"My client is happy," Webby said. "I think it's going to help him."

The judge sentenced the four men to jail terms of four to 24 months. But he gave the three men, who already had served at least four months, immediate parole. Reyes-Rosario remains imprisoned on an unrelated drug charge.

Olszewski ordered the three to return with their parole officers in a year and take an English test. "If they don't pass, they're going in for the 24 (months)," he said.

Olszewski is known for outside-the-box sentencing.

He has ordered young defendants who are school dropouts to finish school. He often orders defendants to get full-time employment. But he also has his staff coordinate with an employment agency to help them find the jobs.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,342312,00.html

I like this guy....learn it or leave. We aren't the one and only land of oppertunity....there's a whole WORLD out there......

exactly. I was just about to post this too.



Great ruling by that judge.. may more like him take this stance and get some english going here.

Hmmm....Well, if they can't speak English they aren't citizens. Did anyone think to check their immigration status?

Furthermore, what's to stop them from just fleeing to Mexico after a year and coming back with different papers if they choose not to follow the rules. I mean think about it, these guys haven't exactly showed a penchant for following the rules, thus far, have they?

While I agree the sentencing was a creative way to help them lead more productive lives, how effective can it be with a group who can just leave and come back under another identity? How often do you hear about criminal suspects who just flee back to "home base" (Mexico) only to come back again as somebody else?

Originally Posted by Squire

Hmmm....Well, if they can't speak English they aren't citizens. Did anyone think to check their immigration status?

Furthermore, what's to stop them from just fleeing to Mexico after a year and coming back with different papers if they choose not to follow the rules. I mean think about it, these guys haven't exactly showed a penchant for following the rules, thus far, have they?

While I agree the sentencing was a creative way to help them lead more productive lives, how effective can it be with a group who can just leave and come back under another identity? How often do you hear about criminal suspects who just flee back to "home base" (Mexico) only to come back again as somebody else?

Yes, I like the judges ruling...but doubtful if they will show up again in a year to see if they have learned the english language!

Originally Posted by Squire

Hmmm....Well, if they can't speak English they aren't citizens. Did anyone think to check their immigration status?

Furthermore, what's to stop them from just fleeing to Mexico after a year and coming back with different papers if they choose not to follow the rules. I mean think about it, these guys haven't exactly showed a penchant for following the rules, thus far, have they?

While I agree the sentencing was a creative way to help them lead more productive lives, how effective can it be with a group who can just leave and come back under another identity? How often do you hear about criminal suspects who just flee back to "home base" (Mexico) only to come back again as somebody else?

Well, for one thing they have been fingerprinted. However, I think legality should have been asked about their residency. My question is, who is going to administer the test and where?

I can see their faces now...

The men, who faced prison for criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, can remain on parole if they learn to read and write English, earn their GEDs and get full-time jobs, Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. said.

The men, Luis Reyes, Ricardo Dominguez and Rafael Guzman-Mateo, plus a fourth defendant, Kelvin Reyes-Rosario, all needed translators when they pleaded guilty Tuesday.

"Do you think we are going to supply you with a translator all of your life?" the judge asked them.

The HUGE question remains, are they legal? If so, the judge should have turned them over to the immigration authorities.

And I am sorry but if they hit someone in the head and threatened them with a gun they are to dangerous to be on our streets....I also want to know if they were illegal.

If they are illegal, I could careless if they learn English. I want them deported, and the fact they do not speak a word of English would lead me to believe they are not in this country legally.