Ohio judge puts Dad in jail because his adult daughter did not receive her GED!

By SN Wednesday May 14, 2008

Associated Press – May 13, 2008:

A man ordered by a judge to make sure his daughter hit the books has found himself in jail because she failed to earn a high school equivalency diploma.

Brian Gegner, of Fairfield, was sentenced last week to 180 days in jail for contributing to the unruliness or delinquency of a minor.

He was ordered months ago to make sure his 18-year-old daughter Brittany Gegner, who has a history of truancy, received her GED — something that hasn’t happened yet.

“Brittany is almost 19 years old now and I think it’s unfair to put her father in jail,” said Shana Roach. “She’s an adult now, and it’s not right to rip an innocent man from his home.”

35 Comments

LtJackboot says:

5/14/2008 at 4:37 pm

Alternate headline: Parent held responsible for spawning loser of the future-film at 11.
Bill R. says:

5/14/2008 at 5:54 pm

I kinda feel for the Father on this one. The now adult daughter moved out and is living with the mother in a different city.

While I agree the father bears some responsibility for the original truancy, I think that the mother has now some share of this as the daughter failed to TAKE the test.

It’s not that she didn’t study, or failed to pass the test. She just didn’t show up!

Now, to make sure my kids finish school before I get thrown into our famous tent city jails…
Nimby says:

5/14/2008 at 9:04 pm

Leaving aside the question of whether the punishment is right or wrong and whether or not one person can be responsible for the actions of another, can we consider the bugger question?

Why are we putting people in jail for non-violent crimes? John C. might say it’s because of the increasing privatization of the penal system. More prisoners = good for the economy. I would say more prisoners = a drain on society.

I think jail and prisons should be reserved for violent criminals or people whose actions put others’ lives at risk.
Alex says:

5/15/2008 at 3:59 am

“Why are we putting people in jail for non-violent crimes?”

They *aren’t* putting anyone in jail for non-violent crimes.

1) It’s an administrative judge – administrative judges (in every jurisdiction I know of) have no power whatever to put people in jail for non violent crimes.

2) This man *violated a court order*. This was his “crime”. The article is terribly written and fails to point this out to the reader, for sensationalist appeal (and, clearly, it worked.)

“John C. might say it’s because of the increasing privatization of the penal system. More prisoners = good for the economy. I would say more prisoners = a drain on society.”

While I will completely agree the privatization of certain social goods/systems has led to a downward spiraling society that panders to the lowest common denominator, I believe the general consensus overall is that more prisoners = bad for the economy. Prisons are, by and large, just not profitable for anyone – at least to the point of making private contracts prohibitively expensive. Which isn’t to say they don’t exist – simply to say it’s stupid that they do.