Poor judgment, perhaps; but the punishment certainly fit the crime!

I'm amused to read of a unique sentence handed down by a Mexican judge, who was (unfortunately, in my opinion) stopped before he could implement it.

A Mexican judge was sacked for attempting to spray paint the buttocks of a teenage graffiti artist as punishment for tagging on public buildings, it was claimed.

Fernando Perez Hurtado, a civilian judge from San Juan Del Rio, was dismissed for abusing his authority after he tried to impose the “humiliating” sentence on the 13 year-old, officials said.

Police said the teenager, who has not been named, was caught last week “tagging” on walls of public buildings and homes throughout the suburbs of the town, located in the state of Queretaro, about 160 miles northwest of Mexico City.

After he was arrested and charged, he faced court where the judge imposed the bizarre punishment instead of forcing his parents to pay a fine to pay for any future clean-up, it was claimed.

Despite protests from parents and other court officials, the judge ordered the young artist to pull down his trousers before attempting to paint his buttocks with the same spray paint the teenager had used during his crimes.

The judge, who is facing a three year ban from public office and a fine, was prevented from touching the child after concerned officials stepped in, local media reported.

The town’s mayor Gustavo Nieto later confirmed he had fired the judge, whose job it was to impose penalties for petty crime, after he had “humiliated” the teenager.

He said the judge had abused his authority, because he should have notified the boy’s parents to force them pay a fine for the clean-up, not punish him directly.

There's more at the link.

I must confess, my sympathies are with the judge! I've been infuriated many times to see the eyesores graffitists leave behind them, whether on railway rolling stock or on buildings. I think a touch of the paintbrush (or spraycan) might have been very appropriate under the circumstances!



Peter