Sentences on hold: A timeless tale

Making lawbreakers wait too long may be unconstitutional, a judge says.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- When pigs fly. When hell freezes over.
That's when some municipal and county judges believe criminals furloughed from the Mahoning County Jail over the past 10 months will return to serve their sentences. Combined, roughly 400 freed convicts, if they haven't satisfied their sentence in some way other than jail, owe about 19,000 days -- which would cost the county $1.3 million (nearly $70 per day per inmate) to incarcerate them, records show.
"They will never serve their sentence," said Youngstown Municipal Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly. "Never."
Judge David A. D'Apolito, assigned to the county court bench in Austintown, agreed.
"I can honestly say there will never be room in the jail. I'm frustrated and disheartened," he said. "Justice is not being served."
The Vindicator used an active inmate summary and emergency jail release report provided by the sheriff's department to track furloughed inmates who leave with the idea they will return at some point in the future or have their time converted to house arrest, community service or suspended. The inmate summary, as of Thursday, showed 434 furloughed inmates. The emergency jail release report, which showed 56 fewer inmates, was used to calculate days owed where possible. Names that did not appear on both reports were not used.
Let out early
Nearly every day, newly convicted criminals leave the 564-bed jail on Fifth Avenue on furlough. In response to a successful inmates' federal class-action lawsuit, the jail is expected to keep its population at 296, but it typically has 25 more.
Sheriff Randall A. Wellington said he doesn't know what to expect in 2006 but would like to see all the furloughed inmates serve their sentence -- even if it means day reporting. He said the process would involve spending each day in a structured setting, possibly at the now-closed misdemeanant jail on Commerce Street.
Judge Diane Vettori, who presides in Sebring, said making lawbreakers wait an inordinate amount of time to serve their sentence could be considered unconstitutional. She said a similar situation arose in Stark County where waiting years to serve a sentence was determined to be cruel and unusual punishment.
Canfield Judge Scott D. Hunter said the constitutional rights issue is legitimate one.
Alternative sentencing
Judge Hunter said he's never witnessed anything like this in his life, but he's not ready to concede that his furloughed lawbreakers will not serve their sentences in jail. He added that he realizes the gravity of the situation and has been pursuing alternative sentencings. He's willing to consider, on a case-by-case basis, day reporting.
Judge D'Apolito said the way he sentences, too, has changed. Rather than go through the "charade" of imposing jail time, he said he hands down community service or house arrest, just to exact some form of punishment.
Judge Vettori suggested, as a short-term measure, paying to house misdemeanor offenders elsewhere -- Stark County, for example, and tack on the charge to court costs. She's receptive to Wellington's idea of day reporting.
"The options are limited without jail space," Judge Vettori said.
She said the county judges in Austintown, Boardman, Sebring and Canfield work well together and would like to see an allotment of jail beds that they could divide up as necessary.
Judge Kobly said reopening the misdemeanant jail to house those convicted of misdemeanors would solve a lot of problems. The jail, though, can only house nonviolent offenders, she said.
No longer an option
Judge D'Apolito said sentenced criminals, some convicted of domestic violence, assault and operating a vehicle while impaired, for example, are escaping punishment because jail isn't really an option for the lower courts anymore. He pointed out that OVI convictions carry mandatory sentences that aren't being served.
Aside from OVI and domestic violence, those on furlough were convicted of crimes such as theft, driving under suspension, probation violation, receiving stolen property, endangering children, drug abuse, criminal damaging, violation of protection orders, menacing, nonsupport, resisting arrest, obstruction of justice and much more.
Early on in the release process, which began March 31, inmates who had served most of their sentence were freed without a provision to return. Since then, inmates are generally furloughed the same day they are sentenced, records show.
Judge Hunter said that, when the release process began, judges were informed when their sentenced inmates were being furloughed but "that stopped long ago."
Some judges, when notified of releases, then converted the jail time to community service, house arrest or suspended it.
In addition to furloughed inmates, an additional 2,000 or so men and women arrested and booked into jail have been granted another form of emergency release -- most without regard to bond -- and handed court summonses, records show. Many of them fail to appear in court and have to be arrested again, often more than once. In Youngstown, for example, more than 1,500 warrants have been issued for those who skipped court.
Little relief
The emergency release mechanism was devised by the common pleas judges. When it comes to sentencing, the only relief for the lower court judges has been a federal judge's recent order that the jail keep individuals convicted of contempt of court.
Campbell Municipal Judge John P. Almasy, whose term ended Friday, said he doesn't know if furloughed inmates will ever have to serve their terms. He has been ordering that those convicted of contempt of court -- for failing to do community service or report for probation -- be held in jail.
Disrespect evident
The judge said defendants' disrespect for the lower courts, since they learned jail time was not an option, has been evident -- as if they're saying "to hell with you." He said that attitude makes his blood pressure go up a bit.
"Who knows? Who knows when or if they'll serve their sentences," said Struthers Municipal Judge James R. Lanzo. "It depends on the budget, on finances. Do they have room?"
Judge Lanzo decried the backlog of furloughed inmates, which keeps growing every day. "We're a smaller court -- Youngstown muni should be screaming."
Youngstown Municipal Court has 144 criminals on furlough; Boardman, 75; Austintown, 40; Sebring, 34; Canfield, 24; Struthers, 19; Mahoning County Common Pleas, 17; Campbell, 13; and Mahoning County Juvenile Court, 12, records show. A few inmates' sentences are a combination of two courts.
meade@vindy.com