Global Security, Privacy, & Risk Management

Judge Tells Criminal a father should have “beat the hell” out of him to prevent crime… July 17, 2014

While this is not security related, I feel I have to comment on this social issue.  According to reports, Wayne County Judge James Callahan told Latrez Cummings that the “…young man who participated in a mob attack on a Detroit-area motorist needed a father to “beat the hell” out of him as a kid to discourage him from committing such a crime…”  Mr. Cummings was sentenced to six months in jail for his participation in the gang beating of Steve Utash who was beaten after hitting a child with his truck on a Detroit street.  Do I think Cummings is a criminal who should be in jail? Absolutely.  Do I think, as Judge Callahan stated that a child needs: “someone to discipline you. Someone to beat the hell out of you when you made a mistake, as opposed to allowing you or encouraging you to do it to somebody else.”  No.  The fact that a sitting judge would reduce the factors involved in criminality to simply not ‘beating a child’ enough or believe that the way to deter such behavior is through ‘beating a child’ is offensive and demonstrates why our justice system in the  US is in shambles.  Judge Callahan clearly does not believe that women (moms) are capable of raising or disciplining children and appears to be believe that the only effective way to deter aberrant behavior is to beat a child.  This is ignorant at best, and dangerous at its worse.  There are many reasons for crime.  Judge Callahan needs to learn more about crime prevention and less about ‘beating children’.