For some offenders, sentences are just that

Judge Stacy Cook sometimes orders defendants to write essays. THE BLADE Enlarge | Photo Reprints

Lying among the volumes of paper piled on Judge Stacy Cook’s desk was a handwritten report from a young man she last saw standing at the defendant’s table in her Lucas County Common Pleas courtroom.

“In today’s society, guns and drugs have put most teens at risk,” the paper began. “The number of teens with drugs and guns has risen rapidly. People are wondering why … “

The report isn’t the answer to the nation’s problem of teen violence and drug use — it isn’t supposed to be. But for the 22-year-old man who was required to write five pages on “youths at risk with drugs/alcohol and guns,” the paper was a way to force him to take a look at his choices.

Since taking the bench in 2007, Judge Cook has seen hundreds of felony defendants. Some she sends to prison; for others she orders time on community control.

And still others get probation with a few added requirements — such as a five-page paper on teen violence, or a report on closed-head injuries.

It’s a practice not seen elsewhere in the courthouse. But in Judge Cook’s fourth-floor courtroom, it’s a method she believes is working.

“From years of practicing law, I felt that there was a huge missing link in getting people to understand what they did wrong, not just in committing the crime but where there was error in judgment,” Judge Cook said. “I’ve always thought people needed to understand that what they did sent out this ripple effect.”

The judge said that ordering papers is more than just busy work. It’s an attempt to make defendants think of how their crimes affect others — in essence, putting their actions back into their lap.

But even more important, it’s an attempt to change a lifestyle.

Judge Cook has ordered as many as 30 defendants to write reports on closed-head injuries and several others to document statistics of guns and violence among youth. At any given time, the judge may have a few of the ordered reports mixed in with the daily paperwork scattered about her desk.

She reads them all.

But does it work?

Judge Cook said she can only gauge success on the number of times those on community control have violations.

In particular she looks for those who return to her court after committing a new crime or because of continued drug use.

And while she has no statistics and can’t say for sure, the judge said after a few reflective moments that the numbers for what she would consider serious violations seem to be low.

Lawyer Richard Hasbrook, the public defender in Judge Cook’s courtroom, agrees. He said that across the state, courts are trying new things in sentencing to deal with Ohio’s overcrowded prisons.

“I see it as just another tool to bring discipline and structure to otherwise undisciplined and unstructured lives,” he said.

Morris Jenkins, chairman of the criminal justice and social work department at the University of Toledo, has researched alternative sentencing and restorative justice. He said that by adding requirements to offenders’ probations, the court is making individuals more accountable.

Mr. Jenkins said he has not studied the effects of written papers on recidivism, but added that he’d be willing to do so. But of the research he has conducted, much of which originates in juvenile court, he has seen that alternative sentences have proven effective.

“I’m glad that we have a judge with foresight and courage to do [alternative sentencing] with adult offenders,” he said. “A lot of individuals deserve second chances. Not everyone but a lot of people do, and by making them do something like a paper, I guarantee they’ll remember it later.”

Mr. Hasbrook said that he has seen his share of success stories in the time Judge Cook has been on the bench.

“And by success stories I mean by degree,” he said. “I have had daily marijuana users stop using marijuana for a lengthy period of time, and I’ve had dropouts earn their GEDs. If we can come out of this with sober and educated offenders, it’s a positive.”

Mandatory reports, usually five pages long, aren’t the only method Judge Cook has used in an attempt to get through to the offenders standing before her.

As part of community control sanctions, she has ordered some offenders to write apology letters to their victims and in some cases — for those she deems high risk — she has set regular, mandatory court dates to keep tabs on progress.

For still others who have been ordered community service hours, the judge has listed a specific organization or activity as part of the requirement.

And she certainly has no problem spending time on a stern lecture.

“I do get vested,” she said. “But only because I do think that the ultimate goal is that they are good and healthy on the outside.

“While it may sound more concerned, it’s not easy,” the judge added. “They don’t do less for me [on community control]. Ultimately, they may have to do more. It’s a step-by-step process and there are ramifications when they step off.”

The judge acknowledged that some may “roll their eyes” at a criminal sentence that includes report writing, but said it’s more important to her to see the eyes of the defendant who finally gets it. And she admits that some may believe she should order harsher sentences.

“I’m sure there’s criticism, but I don’t hear them,” she stated matter-of-factly. “There’s a certain logic to the fact that the prisons are overcrowded … and you ultimately want someone to come back into the community and be viable.”

The judge recognizes that some of those people she gives chances to will succeed. Others, she knows, will fail. But a sticky note on the report about at-risk youth shows that some people are worth the effort.

“At last checkup, all negative [drug] screens and working,” it said.

“Some things are punishment-based and some things are about putting someone back out into the community,” Judge Cook said. “But everybody has a consequence. No one leaves [the courtroom] without facing consequences.”

Contact Erica Blake at: eblake@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.