Shame on you

A prosecutor in CT tried to say to a woman. The judge stopped him from doing so.

Okay, well, not literally. Manchester prosecutor Adam Scott sought to make public shaming a condition of Accelerated Rehabilitation (a pre-trial diversion program) for 55 year old teacher Angela Schmidt. Ms. Schmidt was granted AR for falsely accusing a man of sexually assaulting her. Scott wanted her to take out an ad saying that she had done so.

The article notes diverse opinions from attorneys in the state. Some came out against the idea and some didn’t think it was that bad. I

“It reminded me of the pilgrims and stockade in front of town square,” said Schmidt’s lawyer, Richard Brown. “Why would you ask a defendant, not found guilty, to be put through such humiliation? It’s a punitive sanction and is inconsistent with punishment we should give to people.”

Timothy Everett, a clinical law professor at UConn Law School, agreed.

“When a person receives accelerated rehabilitation they still retain the right against self-incrimination,” he said. “The defendant was not convicted of anything. Admitting in public print is self-incrimination and could be used against her.”

Everett called the request “pushing the envelope” and said he had never heard of it being made in the past. He has seen judges order a person to write a letter of apology, but not to advertise it to the public.

“Requiring someone to shame [himself] is a constitutional violation,” he said.

Everett and Brown also agreed that accelerated rehabilitation usually imposes conditions that are constructive and can build a person’s character. This condition would have only punished and humiliated, they contend.

While I agree that the imposition of such a condition would probably be in contravention to the purpose of AR, I haven’t made up my mind about the use of shaming punishments as a sentence.

Deep down inside me, somewhere, are still burned the lessons of childhood, where I learned the quickest when others made fun of me. Then I think back to the severe pain and embarrassment that accompanied those tauntings and I think, maybe it isn’t such a good idea after all.