Ohio dad gets jail for mocking girl with cerebral palsy

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**Frazzled**

What a complete butthead. The sentence is appropriate. Put this guy in a cell with "Icepick" for a month to think about how much of a

he really is.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/28/ohio-dad-gets-jail-for-mocking-girl-with-cerebral-palsy/?test=latestnews

Ohio dad gets jail for mocking girl with cerebral palsy
Published November 28, 2012
FoxNews.com

A northeast Ohio man accused of making fun of a young girl with cerebral palsy has been sentenced to a month in jail.

Canton Municipal Judge John A. Poulos ordered the maximum sentence for 43-year-old William Bailey, who pleaded no contest Tuesday to reduced misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and aggravated menacing.

The (Canton) Repository reports that Bailey was caught on cellphone video at a school bus stop in October making fun of how the 10-year-old disabled girl walks. The video of him seemingly imitating her limp was disseminated online and on local TV news. Bailey denied he was mocking the girl, saying he was reacting to name-calling directed at his 9-year-old son.

The video was shot in October by Hope Holocomb's grandmother at a bus stop, and shows what appears to be both Bailey and his son each walking with a pronounced limp.

Bailey, for his part, declined to talk on camera, but at the time told The New York Daily News that he was injured on the job and was suffering from bruised ribs and twisted back when the video was shot.

His wife told Fox8.com that this is all part of an ongoing dispute and that Hope's family has called her son names.

Bailey apologized to the girl and her family in a statement Tuesday.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/28/ohio-dad-gets-jail-for-mocking-girl-with-cerebral-palsy/?test=latestnews#ixzz2DYX0FEqm

**pretre**

Wait... You can go to jail for making fun of someone? I may think the guy is a jackass, but that doesn't mean he should go to jail for it.

**whembly**

Uh... no jailtime is needed.

Just tell me where he lives.

**hotsauceman1**

Freedom of speech indeed.
Remember kids, You can say whatever you want too, aslong as it is approved by the govenrment.

**InquisitorVaron**

What a barstall lets hope the lads in the prison think he's a pretty boy, or he's very clumsy with a bar of soap.
As you said what a butthead, would it be harsh to suggest he gets cerebral palsy even though I don't think it's possible. Oh the irony would be great.

**whembly**

hotsauceman1 wrote:
Freedom of speech indeed.
Remember kids, You can say whatever you want too, aslong as it is approved by the govenrment.

He's free to say it... just not free from any sort of consequence.

No jail time though...

Just send his home address.

**Frazzled**

pretre wrote:
Wait... You can go to jail for making fun of someone? I may think the guy is a jackass, but that doesn't mean he should go to jail for it.

Its a very small article. It just says he pleaded down, so there is other stuff going on. Still he looks like a major butthead and deserves it. It beats the beatdown he so richly deserves. Maybe prison will remedy that.

**InquisitorVaron**

It is Freedom of Speech but you can't be that rude and not get some consequence. It's the judge to decide.

**Alfndrate**

whembly wrote:
hotsauceman1 wrote:
Freedom of speech indeed.
Remember kids, You can say whatever you want too, aslong as it is approved by the govenrment.

He's free to say it... just not free from any sort of consequence.

No jail time though...

Just send his home address.

I'm closer... I work in Canton... the place is a God forsaken fethhole...

**pretre**

Yeah, I read the article. As far as I could tell, he acted like a jackass on a video and was charged with disorderly conduct and aggravated menacing.

Acting like a jackass on video is not something you should be jailed for. Nor, contrary to all the ITGs in this thread, something you should be beat up for.

**Hordini**

The guy seems like a complete douchebag, and what he did was absolutely inappropriate. However, I'm not sure it should be okay to send someone to jail for making fun of someone.

I'm not saying there should be no consequences for what he did, I just am not sure that sending someone to jail is the right solution. I've seen people make fun of others in really cruel ways, and although it was appalling, I never thought they should be sent to jail for it.

However, with the whole family feud thing that they mentioned in the story, it could easily be that a lot more is going on in this case.

**pretre**

InquisitorVaron wrote:
It is Freedom of Speech but you can't be that rude and not get some consequence. It's the judge to decide.

Actually, that's the point of FoS.
Consequence from something other than government? Sure.
Consequence from government for unpopular, stupid or whatever speech? No.

**InquisitorVaron**

pretre wrote:
InquisitorVaron wrote:
It is Freedom of Speech but you can't be that rude and not get some consequence. It's the judge to decide.

Actually, that's the point of FoS.
Consequence from something other than government? Sure.
Consequence from government for unpopular, stupid or whatever speech? No.

Isn't that what I said, this doesn't involve government it's someone being disorderly and being charged for it.

**Grimtuff**

pretre wrote:
Wait... You can go to jail for making fun of someone? I may think the guy is a jackass, but that doesn't mean he should go to jail for it.

This.

I don't condone what he did, but the thought police are out in full force again.

**pretre**

InquisitorVaron wrote:
Isn't that what I said, this doesn't involve government it's someone being disorderly and being charged for it.

So making fun of someone or saying something unpopular is now disorderly conduct?

That basically means that anything is disorderly conduct.

**Frazzled**

pretre wrote:
So making fun of someone or saying something unpopular is now disorderly conduct?

That basically means that anything is disorderly conduct.

There's more to it than that, and there likely was in this circumstance.

**Hulksmash**

If there is more to it than presented I don't have an opinion. If there isn't then the dude doesn't deserve jail time. Sorry, mocking someone isn't an offense that should send you to jail.

**Frazzled**

Ah here we go. The original charges were much stronger: "Misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and aggravated menacing were filed last month against Bailey."

Aggraved menacing - thats a big deal. Definitely more going on here.

CHARGES REDUCED

On Tuesday, Bailey pleaded “no contest” to amended charges and was found guilty by Poulos.

Tricia Knight, the girl’s mother, filed the menacing complaint with the prosecutor’s office, saying that Bailey threatened to choke her with a chain, said Jennifer Fitzsimmons, assistant city prosecutor. A Stark County sheriff’s deputy filed the disorderly conduct complaint as a result of the video recording of Bailey and his son at the bus stop, citing Bailey’s actions as “offensive behavior,” Fitzsimmons said.

At a hearing Tuesday, the prosecutor’s office reduced the first-degree misdemeanor menacing charge to a fourth-degree charge, citing that “after further investigation, it was determined the threat made was a threat to harm and did not occur in the vicinity of a school,” court papers said.

Also, the fourth-degree misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct was amended to a minor misdemeanor charge because the incident “did not occur on the day in question and the act did not occur in front of a police officer,” as required by the statute, the paperwork said.

**Grey Templar**

What he did was wrong and I have no sympathy, but its a slippery slope.

If the government can regulate what you say, whats to prevent it from leading to outright censorship of anti-government speech. Or anything someone deems offensive.

Someone could go to jail because they called someone an idiot or D-bag. And that obviously wouldn't be right.

**pretre**

Wait, so Fox News didn't tell the whole story?

He deserves some time in jail for the menacing.

He still should not get a disorderly conduct charge for a video, however.

**Albatross**

So let me get this straight:

PEOPLE CAN GO TO PRISON FOR HURT FEELINGS IN THE USA?

**Grey Templar**

Apparently now.

The real issue is that the Judges decide how to interpert the law, but they can really take things out of context. Even redefine words if they want to.

This is a case of the Judicial system showing how flawed it is getting.

**Lint**

aggravated menacing lol. It just sounds ridiculous.

"(A) No person shall knowingly cause another to believe that the offender will cause serious physical harm to the person or property of the other person, the other person’s unborn, or a member of the other person’s immediate family."

I don't see how making fun of her palsy fits this description, so it would seem that there is indeed more to the story. The video, while showing this guy to be a complete kneebiter, looks like a case of villification by local media.

**Andrew1975**

Good thing we only have mods on this site or surely some of us would end up in the clink.

I don't know about jail time, I love when judges give out humiliating or teaching punishments. Have him wear a sign in public that shows what a douche he is, or maybe make him work at a home for the disabled as community service. Especially if his son is involved, he should have to teach his son that his actions were misguided. If you put this guy in prison he and his son won't learn a thing from the experience.

**Grey Templar**

Andrew1975 wrote:
Good thing we only have mods on this site or surely some of us would end up in the clink.

I don't know about jail time, I love when judges give out humiliating or teaching punishments. Have him wear a sign in public that shows what a douche he is, or maybe make him work at a home for the disabled as community service.

Indeed, thats a reasonable punishment. Of course it should get codified so future judges can't punish similar offenses with a more serious punishment.

Jail time for insulting someone is not an appropriate punishment.

**MeanGreenStompa**

This is not 'insulting another person' or 'being an ass', this is psychological child abuse, by an adult, towards a child with quite enough on her plate already.

Screw him, hope he enjoys prison and the lifetime of complications that will earn him.

**Andrew1975**

Here is a perfect example from relatively the same area. This time in Cleveland.http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/146172/woman_sentenced_to_wear_idiot

I like when judges think out of the box like this.

**Frazzled**

MeanGreenStompa wrote:
This is not 'insulting another person' or 'being an ass', this is psychological child abuse, by an adult, towards a child with quite enough on her plate already.

Screw him, hope he enjoys prison and the lifetime of complications that will earn him.

You're just shotting higher and hgher on my A#1 list.

**InquisitorVaron**

pretre wrote:
InquisitorVaron wrote:
Isn't that what I said, this doesn't involve government it's someone being disorderly and being charged for it.

So making fun of someone or saying something unpopular is now disorderly conduct?

That basically means that anything is disorderly conduct.

No he's being a grevience on society, if a drunk starts heckling someone he gets done for being Drunk and disorderly. This guy is doing that but isn't drunk therefore it's a worse offence...

**Mannahnin**

Frazzled wrote:
CHARGES REDUCED

On Tuesday, Bailey pleaded “no contest” to amended charges and was found guilty by Poulos.

Tricia Knight, the girl’s mother, filed the menacing complaint with the prosecutor’s office, saying that Bailey threatened to choke her with a chain, said Jennifer Fitzsimmons, assistant city prosecutor. A Stark County sheriff’s deputy filed the disorderly conduct complaint as a result of the video recording of Bailey and his son at the bus stop, citing Bailey’s actions as “offensive behavior,” Fitzsimmons said.

At a hearing Tuesday, the prosecutor’s office reduced the first-degree misdemeanor menacing charge to a fourth-degree charge, citing that “after further investigation, it was determined the threat made was a threat to harm and did not occur in the vicinity of a school,” court papers said.

Also, the fourth-degree misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct was amended to a minor misdemeanor charge because the incident “did not occur on the day in question and the act did not occur in front of a police officer,” as required by the statute, the paperwork said.

Okay, if he threatened to choke the mom out with a chain, yeah, that looks to have escalated to something worth jail time. Making fun of a disabled kid is monetary fine + community service worthy, not jailworthy.