Crime, Drugs

Judge Calls Defendant 'Almost Worthless,' Says He Should Maybe Kill Himself

This judge's tough-talking ways seem ripe for daytime television programming.

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Sometimes judges with heavy criminal caseloads get really frustrated with the system. They likely see the same defendants over and over and over again, with rap sheets that seemingly go on for miles.

What’s a judge to do?

In Ohio, one tough-talking municipal court judge decided that the best course of action in the case of an admitted drug addict who was a repeat offender with an arrest history that included aggravated trespassing, assault, robbery, burglary, and possession of drug paraphernalia would be to tell him to kill himself — specifically, that this defendant would be “doing society a favor if he did.”

Retired Judge Michael Weigand, who has more than 40 years of experience in all aspects of courtroom practice (he worked as a prosecutor and a defense lawyer before moving to the bench) was assisting with Akron, Ohio’s arraignment docket when 21-year-old Keith William Waterbeck entered his courtroom earlier this summer after having been arrested for failure to participate in a court-ordered work-release program. After a quick review of Waterbeck’s record, Judge Weigand thought it was time to scare this defendant straight.

Here’s a partial transcript of the exchange between Judge Weigand and Waterbeck:

Weigand: When’s the last time you used drugs?

Waterbeck: Sunday.

Weigand: So you’re almost worthless.

Waterbeck: There’s nothing …

Weigand: I’m not going to tie up the jails and spend the taxpayers’ money, you know, trying to give you — nothing’s going to work.

Waterbeck: Jail ain’t going to work either.

Weigand: I didn’t say it wasn’t going to work.

Waterbeck: If you send me to CBCF [Community Based Corrections Facility rehab program run by Oriana House], I’m not going to walk out of there. I’ve completed that program before. I completed CBCF in 2013, scared to leave, ’cause it’s a felony. So that makes me stay and help myself.

Weigand: Well, you’re not going to help yourself. I’m just, you know, balancing spending the taxpayers’ money, or just letting you go out and maybe kill yourself.

Waterbeck: But that’s what I’m trying not to do, though.

Weigand: Well, you’d be doing society a favor if you did.

Whoa there, Your Honor. Telling a defendant that his best option would be to kill himself as a matter of law is pretty harsh. Judge Weigand, however, says that he was just trying to “get [Waterbeck’s] attention,” and it looks like he did. “[Waterbeck] seemed to get nervous and that’s the effect I wanted and he turned around and said help me.” Aww, it’s okay everyone, Judge Weigand told Waterbeck to kill himself out of the kindness of his heart.

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Judge Weigand, a man whose colleagues say he is “devote[d] … to giving people a second chance,” ultimately sentenced Waterbeck to 30 days in a drug rehab program.

Judge Michael Weigand’s ways seem ripe for daytime television programming, so we’d suggest that any network execs who may be reading this give him a call. After all, Judge Judy is popular because of the harsh things she says, so can you imagine the amazing ratings a judge who called people worthless and told them to kill themselves would get? This seems like a real no-brainer to us, so hurry up and give this man an offer.

Judge doesn’t regret telling drug offender he’d be ‘doing society a favor’ if he killed himself in overdose [Akron Beacon Journal]
Transcript of exchange between municipal judge and drug defendant [Akron Beacon Journal]
Akron judge has harsh words for drug dealer [Fox 8 Cleveland]
Judge tells defendant he would do society a favor by killing himself [ABA Journal]

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