Woman ordered by judge to cook Thanksgiving dinner for cops

[PaulConventionWV]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/valerie-rodgers-reckless-driver_n_2089108.html


Justice will be served.

On Monday, a judge ordered Valerie Rodgers, 46, of Tuscarawas Township, Ohio to cook Thanksgiving dinner for three cops who are on leave or otherwise unable to work after she pleaded guilty to felony assault and three misdemeanors.

The charges came after Rodgers knocked over an officer who was directing traffic during the Canton Marathon in June, according to the Associated Press.

Rodgers was ordered by the officer not to make a left turn. Instead, she blew past him, knocking him on his back.

The woman was also sentenced to one year of probation.

Rodgers' sentence is surely preferable to another strange punishment handed out to a woman in Cleveland this week.

A judge decreed that Shena Hardin had to stand at an intersection for two days next week wearing a sign reading, "Only an idiot drives on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus."

What was that about "cruel and unusual punishment" in the Constitution?

[dillo]

sickening

[Origanalist]

Time to burn the turkey and serve the potatoes half cooked. Really lumpy gravy anyone?

[specsaregood]

Time to burn the turkey and serve the potatoes half cooked. Really lumpy gravy anyone?

I'm not gonna say what I would serve mixed in that gravy and just leave it at that.

[Origanalist]

I'm not gonna say what I would serve mixed in that gravy and just leave it at that.

Ewwwww

[PaulConventionWV]

Come to think of it, it really doesn't make sense to have someone cook for you out of spite. There's no telling what they would do to the food. On the other hand, I am really curious to see how this turns out. If the cops find out she did something to the food, or she just doesn't cook well, on purpose, then there is no doubt in my mind that further penalties will ensue simply because the woman failed to provide a satisfactory meal to what might as well essentially be royalty.

[VanBummel]

Let me guess, she has to serve them in her home too? Might as well cross out the 3rd Amendment...it was looking kind of stupid being the one lonely thing left in the BoR anyway.

[jbauer]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/valerie-rodgers-reckless-driver_n_2089108.html



What was that about "cruel and unusual punishment" in the Constitution?

The gal that had to wear the sign passed a school bus on a sidewalk in a school area. She should be happy that she's not going to jail. I don't think standing by the bus with a sign for 1 hr (if I recall correctly) a day for 2 days warning other drivers not to do the same seems to be a justified punishment. What would you suggest as a punishment for nearly mowing over a bunch of kids?

[Bruno]

"cruel and unusual punishment" for sure!

[Dr.3D]

Seems like it would be time to substitute salt for sugar in most of that dinner.

[specsaregood]

The gal that had to wear the sign passed a school bus on a sidewalk in a school area. She should be happy that she's not going to jail. I don't think standing by the bus with a sign for 1 hr (if I recall correctly) a day for 2 days warning other drivers not to do the same seems to be a justified punishment. What would you suggest as a punishment for nearly mowing over a bunch of kids?

I do not ever recall reading about her "nearly mowing over a bunch of kids". Certainly wasnt in the video I saw.

[staerker]

Yes, cooking a meal for someone you almost killed is cruel.

[AGRP]

My punishment probably would have been worse and actually just. I would have made her resurface the soil and reseed the grass she destroyed.

[Acala]

She should make turkey surprise:

Let the turkey thaw fully,
rub it with a turtle,
bake for ten hours at 100 degrees

[fisharmor]

She should make turkey surprise:

Let the turkey thaw fully,
rub it with a turtle,
bake for ten hours at 100 degrees

Thread winner.

[brandon]

Hah. I think it's a great punishment. She pleaded out to this...if she didn't like it she could have taken the alternative jail time/max fine or whatever goes with the crime.

[PaulConventionWV]

Yes, cooking a meal for someone you almost killed is cruel.

You conveniently left out the "unusual" in "cruel and unusual".

[PaulConventionWV]

Hah. I think it's a great punishment. She pleaded out to this...if she didn't like it she could have taken the alternative jail time/max fine or whatever goes with the crime.

The point is that the courts are only supposed to use conventional and appropriate forms of punishment. Threatening her with jail time if she doesn't comply with this order doesn't make it any less stupid. Public shaming is one thing since it's actually a legitimate and conventional form of punishment. This is treating cops like they are your masters and you must serve them as someone might serve royalty in order to avoid their wrath. Give her a sentence and get on with it, but don't make her jump through hoops of servitude to be a good little citizen. This only fortifies the notion that cops and courts jointly have unlimited power and authority when they can make people bown down and worship them and kiss their feet to avoid much harsher punishments. It's sickening because it makes punishment arbitrary according to the whims and wills of the judge and the officers. You try asking for a punishment like this for something that happened to you, and I bet you couldn't get it. Only cops get the royalty treatment.

[AFPVet]

I agree... this is unusual; however, public shaming isn't....

[jbauer]

I do not ever recall reading about her "nearly mowing over a bunch of kids". Certainly wasnt in the video I saw.

She jumped a curb in a school zone. She wasn't within a mile of a school or something you could see the building within feet of her car. She belongs locked up but I'm sure agreed to this.

[specsaregood]

She jumped a curb in a school zone. She wasn't within a mile of a school or something you could see the building within feet of her car. She belongs locked up but I'm sure agreed to this.

So, you agree you didn't actually hear anything about "nearly mowing over a bunch of kids". That was just a bunch of hyperbole?

[jbauer]

I probably watched the same video you did. I am not going to watch it again but it is my recollection that there were kids present.

[John F Kennedy III]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/valerie-rodgers-reckless-driver_n_2089108.html



What was that about "cruel and unusual punishment" in the Constitution?

I'm learning more each day you have to make sure you read the Constitution with emphasis in the correct places. If I had a time machine the Constitution would be 50x longer just from adding more details to make it all nearly impossible to even innocently misinterpret.

[tod evans]

You conveniently left out the "unusual" in "cruel and unusual".

It could be possible the focus belongs on the word "and"..

"cruel and unusual"

[The Goat]

If the judge is ordering this out of the blue its pretty outrageous. Now if she asked to do this instead of punishment, who cares. I think its better than the excessive force most would have received on the spot.

[GeorgiaAvenger]

Unusual, definitely not cruel.

[The Goat]

Unusual, definitely not cruel.

Now she could make some cruel punishment for the cops in that meal. XD

[Maximus]

I'd cook a meal over jail time.

What she did was mind numbingly stupid. I have no problem with this.

[NCGOPer_for_Paul]

How did this happen?

A friggin' marathon blocking roads paid for by taxpayers, using police services to "direct traffic". All under the guise that the "marathon" brings in revenue for the city. Yeah right.

Was there a reason she ran through the cop's "direction"? Was there a family emergency?

I'm waiting for the day when there's an ambulance call at the same time one of these stupid marathons are blocking major thoroughofares, and the delay from the marathon causes someone to die.

Charlotte has an annual marathon that fucks up traffic in the same neighborhoods every year. There's never any media attention for it, so 98% of the city has NO CLUE that a STATE HIGHWAY and a gateway to downtown will be shut down for two hours on a Saturday morning in November, now. One year, they ran it 9 days before Christmas, with no announcements. The course goes about a 1/2 mile from a large mall. The anger directed towards some of the police and some of the particpants forced City Council to foce the organizers to change the date.

I have nothing against runners, but I do have a major problem when runners choose to participate in an organized way, their "hobby" interferes with 98% of other people's lives, businesses, and routines.

[PaulConventionWV]

It could be possible the focus belongs on the word "and"..

"cruel and unusual"

Yes, both cruel and unusual punishments are unjust. Obviously, if you let the courts make up any wacky punishment they want, then punishment becomes completely arbitrary based on the court's own whims and wills. There's no justice in that. That's the whole point of that clause. Only conventional punishments should be used. If you say cruel and unusual punishments are banned, but you have the freedom to say something isn't cruel even though it's unusual, that kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it? You can't say whether something unusual is actually cruel to the person receiving it, so the point is to avoid both cruel AND unusual punishments so that sentences don't become arbitrary. It cannot be assumed that they have to qualify as both cruel and unusual in order to be valid because cruel is a subjective term, as this case clearly shows. I would think it was pretty cruel to be subjected to that kind of humiliation when everybody else got to serve their sentences in peace. You may not think so, but cruel AND unusual, for all intents and purposes, means that both cruel punishments and unusual punishments are not to be used.

[PaulConventionWV]

Unusual, definitely not cruel.

Says who? You're not in that situation. I don't think you would like it. I know I wouldn't. That's why you can't just decide what's cruel and what's not. If it's either cruel or unusual, then it shouldn't be used, period.

[PaulConventionWV]

How did this happen?

A friggin' marathon blocking roads paid for by taxpayers, using police services to "direct traffic". All under the guise that the "marathon" brings in revenue for the city. Yeah right.

Was there a reason she ran through the cop's "direction"? Was there a family emergency?

I'm waiting for the day when there's an ambulance call at the same time one of these stupid marathons are blocking major thoroughofares, and the delay from the marathon causes someone to die.

Charlotte has an annual marathon that fucks up traffic in the same neighborhoods every year. There's never any media attention for it, so 98% of the city has NO CLUE that a STATE HIGHWAY and a gateway to downtown will be shut down for two hours on a Saturday morning in November, now. One year, they ran it 9 days before Christmas, with no announcements. The course goes about a 1/2 mile from a large mall. The anger directed towards some of the police and some of the particpants forced City Council to foce the organizers to change the date.

I have nothing against runners, but I do have a major problem when runners choose to participate in an organized way, their "hobby" interferes with 98% of other people's lives, businesses, and routines.

On behalf of all runners, fuck you.

I'll participate if I damn well please.

[MelissaWV]

On behalf of all runners, fuck you.

I'll participate if I damn well please.

Now that right there is funny.

If you would have read his post, which I think some runners would bother to do, you would have noticed the MAJOR problem was the unannounced interference. I totally agree. There are groups of cyclists here that randomly decide to use a traffic lane to go for rides on the weekends. You don't know when or where they're going to show up, and the cops don't care, so you are stuck in traffic or confronted with someone who wants to pass the massive herd of them... which means the car is now hurtling towards you, the oncoming vehicle.

Someone's hobby doesn't mean they get to randomly block roads or cause problems with traffic flow. If people are notified ahead of time, they change their plans.

[tod evans]

Happy fucking Thanksgiving officers..


http://img2.photographersdirect.com/img/24565/wm/pd3102523.jpg

[PaulConventionWV]

Now that right there is funny.

If you would have read his post, which I think some runners would bother to do, you would have noticed the MAJOR problem was the unannounced interference. I totally agree. There are groups of cyclists here that randomly decide to use a traffic lane to go for rides on the weekends. You don't know when or where they're going to show up, and the cops don't care, so you are stuck in traffic or confronted with someone who wants to pass the massive herd of them... which means the car is now hurtling towards you, the oncoming vehicle.

Someone's hobby doesn't mean they get to randomly block roads or cause problems with traffic flow. If people are notified ahead of time, they change their plans.

I read the post. The guy seems to think we shouldn't participate in road races if they're available. Maybe he should try it some time instead of criticizing others. Sharing the road is a common courtesy practice. Runners don't hold up traffic. I don't know about cyclists, but for all intents and purposes, they're using a vehicle too, as far as I'm concerned, especially considering it's not just some Joe Bleaux idling along. They're usually going at some pretty serious rates of speed. Real, serious cyclists shouldn't be a problem at all.

[PaulConventionWV]

Happy fucking Thanksgiving officers..


http://img2.photographersdirect.com/img/24565/wm/pd3102523.jpg

Where did the apple in the pig's mouth start? Is that some kind of fetish? I seriously don't understand why that's even remotely interesting.

[torchbearer]

hope she gives them the shits.

[angelatc]

I'm not gonna say what I would serve mixed in that gravy and just leave it at that.

Indeed - my special sauce would be a recipe I'd never share.

Seriously, I'd go to jail first. Cook your own damned food, thugs.

[angelatc]

Where did the apple in the pig's mouth start? Is that some kind of fetish? I seriously don't understand why that's even remotely interesting.

Goes back hundreds of years. At this point it's a tradition.

[Origanalist]

On behalf of all runners, fuck you.


.I'll participate if I damn well please.

Well aint we in the pissy mood.

[alucard13mmfmj]

Nvermind this post ^^ I misread the first post.

Judge might as well force her to have sex with the cops while the judge is at it...

[phill4paul]

Christ, where does it end?

Well, miscreant, you may either serve one year in prison and pay a $5k dollar fine or...

You can mow the police chiefs lawn, clean the house, fix dinner and give a massage with a happy ending.

The choice is yours, of course.

[MelissaWV]

I read the post. The guy seems to think we shouldn't participate in road races if they're available. Maybe he should try it some time instead of criticizing others. Sharing the road is a common courtesy practice. Runners don't hold up traffic. I don't know about cyclists, but for all intents and purposes, they're using a vehicle too, as far as I'm concerned, especially considering it's not just some Joe Bleaux idling along. They're usually going at some pretty serious rates of speed. Real, serious cyclists shouldn't be a problem at all.

Yeah they're totally not holding up traffic that would normally be going 55+mph. :rolleyes:


Charlotte has an annual marathon that fucks up traffic in the same neighborhoods every year. You might have missed that part, because there is no way I can believe that you would respond with
Runners don't hold up traffic.

http://www.bethelrural.org/images/race.jpg

http://wbtv.images.worldnow.com/images/15907679_BG1.jpg

He is talking about large events that close roads, but are not advertised to the non-participating public who might actually want to use the roads that are closed/blocked.

[nobody's_hero]

Did the woman involved in that school bus incident ever get a trial by jury?

[torchbearer]

Did this woman ever get a trial by jury?

what's that? /s

[specsaregood]

what's that?

don't be concerned, i reported him.

[nobody's_hero]

I have had my share of playing chicken with bicyclists, where the alternative was an 18 wheeler in moving head-on towards me.

I mean, I try to 'share the road' when possible, but I have to say that there's a certain degree of arrogance in cyclists who don't seem to realize that if I have a choice between hitting a guy on a bike or hitting an 18 wheeler head-on, the law of self-preservation will make that decision for me.

[presence]

Let me guess, she has to serve them in her home too? Might as well cross out the 3rd Amendment...it was looking kind of stupid being the one lonely thing left in the BoR anyway.

Third Amendment to the United States Constitution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) , part of the Bill of Rights. It prevents the government from quartering soldiers in civilian's homes during peace time without the consent of the civilian


No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner

Judge Ted Poe making folks wear signs on street corners is one thing... but this is completely over the line.

This is most certainly quartering of soldiers in civilian homes.

[torchbearer]

Third Amendment to the United States Constitution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) , part of the Bill of Rights. It prevents the government from quartering soldiers in civilian's homes during peace time without the consent of the civilian

bill of rights?

[phill4paul]

Third Amendment to the United States Constitution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) , part of the Bill of Rights. It prevents the government from quartering soldiers in civilian's homes during peace time without the consent of the civilian


Judge Ted Poe making folks wear signs on street corners is one thing... but this is completely over the line.

This is most certainly quartering of soldiers in civilian homes.

Consent? It's either that or a jail sentence.

Miscreant, the choice is yours.

[opal]

Rub it with a turtle.. rofl! still snorting and almost peeing pants

and I was just gonna say roast it at whatever the hottest temp the oven has for about 20 minutes to pretty up the skin... raw turkey in the middle..quick..effective... but the turtle
bwhahahaha

+1

[presence]

She should make turkey surprise:

Let the turkey thaw fully,
rub it with a turtle,
bake for ten hours at 100 degrees

Your skills in necromancy are weak.
This would never pass.
Cook turkey to elegant perfection.
store your dog cleaned dishware overnight in turtle enclosure,
wipe clean with lightly soiled toilet paper,
Slice and serve with candle light.

Always keep your salmonella fresh,
your agents multifaceted,
and dinner delectable my student.

[Acala]

Your skills in necromancy are weak.
This would never pass.
Cook turkey to elegant perfection.
store your dog cleaned dishware overnight in turtle enclosure,
wipe clean with lightly soiled toilet paper,
Slice and serve with candle light.

Always keep your salmonella fresh,
your agents multifaceted,
and dinner delectable my student.

I bow respectfully

[opal]

wow.. that's dark.. really dark

where do we sign up for the classes?

[NCGOPer_for_Paul]

I read the post. The guy seems to think we shouldn't participate in road races if they're available. Maybe he should try it some time instead of criticizing others. Sharing the road is a common courtesy practice. Runners don't hold up traffic. I don't know about cyclists, but for all intents and purposes, they're using a vehicle too, as far as I'm concerned, especially considering it's not just some Joe Bleaux idling along. They're usually going at some pretty serious rates of speed. Real, serious cyclists shouldn't be a problem at all.

You're responding the same way the majority of runners here responded, UNTIL someone FINALLY got it and realized the complaints weren't about the runners or the sport itself, IT WAS ABOUT CLOSING DOWN MAJOR ROADS WITHOUT ANYONE TELLING THE PUBLIC!

The race that was run in 2009 (the pictures here) ended up getting media attention after the race started because it was run on Saturday, December 12, and as I stated, the course went 1/2 mile from a major mall. It interfered with employees and customers getting to the mall during the Christmas season. A lot of people lost employment because THEY COULDN'T GET TO WORK, and had NO IDEA WHY. I'm not even talking about the minimum wage seasonal workers, I'm talking about store managers.

The race has been moved to November thanks to City Council getting involved and the race organizer realizing what happened, and being a small store owner himself, understanding the impact he caused. Yet there still is NO MENTION of the race in the media.

Nobody hates runners. I really wish everyone here would make a bigger deal of it, so people could plan around it, instead of having it and then wondering why people who have things that they have to get done get pissed off when roads are closed without notice.

[PaulConventionWV]

Yeah they're totally not holding up traffic that would normally be going 55+mph. :rolleyes:

You might have missed that part, because there is no way I can believe that you would respond with

http://www.bethelrural.org/images/race.jpg

http://wbtv.images.worldnow.com/images/15907679_BG1.jpg

He is talking about large events that close roads, but are not advertised to the non-participating public who might actually want to use the roads that are closed/blocked.

I said runners don't hold up traffic. I didn't say races don't hold up traffic. They do. Also, it's quite possible to go 55 on a bike. So what if you have to slow down to 30 or 40 for a bit? Share the road.

[PaulConventionWV]

I have had my share of playing chicken with bicyclists, where the alternative was an 18 wheeler in moving head-on towards me.

I mean, I try to 'share the road' when possible, but I have to say that there's a certain degree of arrogance in cyclists who don't seem to realize that if I have a choice between hitting a guy on a bike or hitting an 18 wheeler head-on, the law of self-preservation will make that decision for me.

Any time I've seen cyclists, they've been on the right side of the road, so I don't see how you can choose between hitting a bike and an 18 wheeler if they're both on the same side of the road or riding away from you on your side.

[PaulConventionWV]

You're responding the same way the majority of runners here responded, UNTIL someone FINALLY got it and realized the complaints weren't about the runners or the sport itself, IT WAS ABOUT CLOSING DOWN MAJOR ROADS WITHOUT ANYONE TELLING THE PUBLIC!

The race that was run in 2009 (the pictures here) ended up getting media attention after the race started because it was run on Saturday, December 12, and as I stated, the course went 1/2 mile from a major mall. It interfered with employees and customers getting to the mall during the Christmas season. A lot of people lost employment because THEY COULDN'T GET TO WORK, and had NO IDEA WHY. I'm not even talking about the minimum wage seasonal workers, I'm talking about store managers.

The race has been moved to November thanks to City Council getting involved and the race organizer realizing what happened, and being a small store owner himself, understanding the impact he caused. Yet there still is NO MENTION of the race in the media.

Nobody hates runners. I really wish everyone here would make a bigger deal of it, so people could plan around it, instead of having it and then wondering why people who have things that they have to get done get pissed off when roads are closed without notice.

Runners don't have control over the roads getting closed down. We can only choose whether to participate or not. And guess what, road races usually are advertised, the ones of any significant size anyway. If you are not aware of them, that's probably your fault because I've always been able to find out where they were before they happened the same way anyone else who ran did. I don't care, if there's a road race and I want to run, you bet your ass I'm going to run it.

[Dr.3D]

Any time I've seen cyclists, they've been on the right side of the road, so I don't see how you can choose between hitting a bike and an 18 wheeler if they're both on the same side of the road or riding away from you on your side.
He is probably talking about the on-coming 18 wheeler and the space between it and the cyclists. There is often not enough room to fit between the two.

[PaulConventionWV]

He is probably talking about the on-coming 18 wheeler and the space between it and the cyclists. There is often not enough room to fit between the two.

That only happens if the cyclists are on his side of the road coming in his direction. Any time I've seen cyclists, they're on the right side of the road. If they're on the 18-wheeler's side, then they're behind the 18 wheeler and not a problem. If they're on his side, they're riding away from him, and he can still travel behind them.

[NCGOPer_for_Paul]

Runners don't have control over the roads getting closed down. We can only choose whether to participate or not. And guess what, road races usually are advertised, the ones of any significant size anyway. If you are not aware of them, that's probably your fault because I've always been able to find out where they were before they happened the same way anyone else who ran did. I don't care, if there's a road race and I want to run, you bet your ass I'm going to run it.

I don't mean any offense, and we usually agree on most things here. Pardon me for saying this, I think it shows a tremendous amount of arrogrance to think that just "everyone should know about a road race" that isn't advertised anywhere by a running store and running websites.

Trust me on this, the City of Charlotte DOES NOT, IN ANY WAY, advertise the Thunder Road Marathon. RUNNERS know about it because they look for events to run in. People that do not run in road races have no clue as to when and where the road closures are. Why would I, who has absolutely no interest in running, look for road race events?

There is a blogger with the local paper that is into running, and he sometimes writes in his blog about events. Since the 2009 clusterf***, I look at his blog occassionally. The Thunder Road Marathon should attract at least 3,000 runners...it barely attracted 1,200 this past year, and the reason they gave was because "nobody knows about it" outside of the small running community.

[presence]

wow.. that's dark.. really dark

where do we sign up for the classes?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnhIWXDWIig

[Muwahid]

You conveniently left out the "unusual" in "cruel and unusual".

but not "cruel OR unusual" :p it can be unusual, or cruel, just not both!

[BamaAla]

Says who? You're not in that situation. I don't think you would like it. I know I wouldn't. That's why you can't just decide what's cruel and what's not. If it's either cruel or unusual, then it shouldn't be used, period.

The guy who defines the Eighth Amendment from his cuff without any jurisprudence evidence now asks "says who?" Can you cite any case law that agrees with your interpretation of cruel and unusual? Alternative sentencing like this doesn't fit the bill.

[John of Des Moines]

Back in the early 1980's Chicago Tribune columnist, Mike Royko, wrote a story about the Cook County Jail inmates assigned to the Cook County Courthouse Complex kitchen. ... I'll leave it to your imagination as to what body fluids were served up.

[RickyJ]

Forget the cooking part of the punishment for a second and consider that she only got one year probation for knocking over a police officer directing traffic. Heck, in Miami the police shot a guy to death for even less than that. Considering she could have killed the officer with her car one year of probation seems like a very light sentence to me. It is very possible she is the one that offered to cook for the officers to receive such a light sentence. It is very hard to feel sorry for this woman. As matter of fact I don't feel sorry for her at all.