Most people believe that if someone does something wrong like break the law, then there should be consequences for those actions. It seems like lately we hear about offenders receiving intermittent sentences, but are intermittent sentences really fair, regarding the crime committed?

Intermittent sentences enable offenders sentenced to 90 days or less to serve their time on weekends. These offenders include drunken drivers, repeat traffic violators, child molesters, robbers, and drug traffickers. These are all crimes that can possibly kill someone or cause serious damage to another person’s life.  There are cases where the offender can serve the sentence at dates to accommodate their schedule if ordered by the court. These criminals aren’t learning anything if a judge lets them spend the weekdays at home, and then serve their time on weekends, on the days they feel like it. Clearly, most criminals know when they break the law, so is it really fair to give them the advantage to serve only on weekends?

If someone abuses a child, a sentence of 90 days is way too lenient, especially if that person can serve the sentence over the weekends. In 2010, Kaylin Ransom received a 90-day sentence for child abuse and aggravated-battery.  She hit a woman with a baseball bat and tossed her own child out of the car.  She served her sentence over weekends, allowing her to keep her job and care for her children during the week.  Her lawyer said in an interview with The Orlando Sentinel, “If she had gone straight to jail, she would’ve lost her job and couldn’t support her children.”  An intermittent sentence is too lenient for someone, who abused her own child.

In December 2011, Min Joon Chang seriously injured a 73 –year- old woman and killed her dog while he was driving intoxicated. Chang had 24-hour roadside suspensions on his driving record prior to this incident. After Chang hit the women and left her lying face down in a ditch unconscious, he left the scene of the accident, but he did come back a few minutes later.  Change received a 90 day intermittent sentence and is prohibited from driving for three years.  The women spent four months in the hospital and she still requires treatment and counseling.

In March 2013, a 26-year-old woman left her three young children at home, while she went to drink and use drugs. Due to a publication ban, the mother cannot be named, but she did plead guilty for child abandonment. She left her children in feces and alone as she went out to party. The mother lied twice to the police, saying she left them with a babysitter. She received a conditional sentence of 9 to 12 months, which will be served in the community-

Intermittent sentences allow the offenders the ability to keep employment, continue education, or care for their family.  In some situations weekend sentences are fair, but when it comes to drunk drivers and child abusers, it not fair. If criminals want to better themselves, they deserve to get treatment and counseling, but first they must be punished for their crimes. Sometimes our justice system lets serious crimes go unpunished by letting criminals walk free during the week.