Judge Michael Cicconeti got into the business of law because he loves seeing bad guys get their comeuppance. As a judge, he is the one who decides how much jail time someone should get or what type of punishment fits the crime. And because he loves standing up for victims who cannot stand up for themselves, namely children and animals, he does not hesitate to use his authority as a judge in the state of Ohio to teach the bad guys a lesson they’ll never forget.
Judge Cicconetti has a soft spot in his heart for animals. Whenever an animal abuser is convicted of their crimes and faces him for sentencing in his courtroom, he tries to come up with a punishment that mirrors what they did to the animal. He wants to humiliate them and really teach them a lesson. He also loves to get creative.
Although Judge Cicconeti gets creative with his punishments, they’re not cruel – although a bit unusual. The perpetrators are not in danger when he issues his sentence – although their egos certainly are. He hopes that his bizarre punishments break their bad streak and show them not to mess with innocent animals anymore.
In one case, the Ohio judge came across a woman who forced her dog to live in total filth. That’s why he sentenced the perpetrator to spend an entire day at the local, smelly garbage dump. The woman hated it, which was exactly the point
“I want you to go down to the county dump, to the landfill, and I want them to find the stinkiest, smelliest, God-awful odor place they can find in that dump, and I want you to sit there for eight hours tomorrow, to think about what you did to that dog while you smell the door. If you puke, you puke.”
Another Ohio woman had abandoned 35 kittens. She was caught and arrested, and when she saw that her trial was to be handled by Judge Cicconeti, she knew she was in big trouble. Because she abandoned the tiny baby cats in the forest, he sentenced her to a night in the cold woods, along with jail time and a fine.
“How would you like to be dumped off at a metro park late at night, spend the night listening to the coyotes, listening to the raccoons around you in the dark night, and sit out there in the cold not knowing where you’re going to get your next meal, not knowing when you are going to be rescued?”
Because his punishments always make the local headlines – and sometimes even reach eyes on a national level – he hopes people think twice before abusing animals. He also wouldn’t mind if other judges follow his lead and get creative with the punishments when dealing with such perpetrators.
The judge always makes his decision about punishments until he’s heard all the facts of the case. He wants to make sure they act as a lesson, as well as offer an embarrassing alternative to jail time when that is deemed appropriate.
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