CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION
Part 1- At the Center
Here I am at the the Clark County Correctional Center. Thankfully I'm here as an
observer, not a participant. I should explain. My name is Rollin and I'm an
attorney. Today I'm here with the Volunteer Law Project representing Jennifer
Scott, a 15 year old who came through the juvenile justice system on an alchohol
possesion charge. In Clark County Ohio in the year 2010 there are certain
offences that can be cleared by the defendant obtaining a "Certificate of
Correction". By going through this program their record will be expunged, there
will be no jail time or fine, except restitution if appropriate. The program is
voluntary, but not everyone opts for it, for reasons which will become clear
later.
The introduction of corporal punishment into the criminal justice system did not
come about over night. For years, though, politicians and the public had
complained about money, sentencing for juveniles and jail space until finally in
California in 2004, petty theft,some driving offenses, and vandalism became
punishable by caning. Enough of the public liked Southeast Asia's approach to
the problem of nonviolent offenses that they were ready to try something new.
Other states were quick to follow. In the wake of President Limbaugh's
conservative law and order platform, the country was ready to try a return to
the woodshed.
At first, the states tried real "Singapore style" caning, but it quickly became
apparent that this was far too brutal for American sensibilities, as it
frequently resulted in permanent scarring and injury. Another problem was that
females were not originally subject to " the CP option" as it came to be called.
The Supreme Court settled that one rather quickly. It ruled that states could
not discriminate on the basis of sex in handing out punishments. Since the
prospect of brutal canings for females was too unattractive, the system had to
be toned down to fit both the crime and the offender.
When California substituted the leather strap for the cane in 2005, the public
became more accepting. A strapping was more like the just punishment of youth
that many recalled from their own childhoods. Various states tried various
options. Most juvenile halls had a "punishment room", usually a converted
storeroom, where an offender would be strapped down over a trestle or table and
given the presribed number of licks or swats with whatever implement the state
deemed appropriate. It was all very unscientific.
Later on it became very scientific. Studies were conducted to determine the best
methods of administering corporal punishment both in a physical and in a
psychological sense. Elaborate systems evolved which combined equal mixtures of
shame, loss of dignity, and pain, to make the offender truly repentant and eager
to avoid repeating the experience.
Here in Ohio if you are between 13 and 18 this is what happens. If convicted and
sentenced in juvenile court, an offender is given 30 days to obtain a
"certificate of correction" which must be filed with the court. To obtain a
certificate, the convicted offender makes an appointment with the county
juvenile correctional center and reports on the appointed day at the appointed
time. They are permitted one witness and it cannot be a parent. Parents may wait
in a waiting area, but may not observe. The usual witness is an attorney who is
there to make sure that procedure is followed and to note any undue severity in
excess of state guidelines.
So here I was. I was representing Jennifer, a pretty girl with long blonde hair,
freckles and a nervous smile. She had never been in trouble before, but, caught
in a car with alchohol in her possesion, she was given 30 days to obtain one
Certificate of Correction tailored to this offense.
I was recommended to Jennifer's parents by Karen, an old and very good friend.
Karen is a juvenile probation officer, who has Jennifer as one of her cases. I
didn't usually practice in juvenile court, but I did some criminal defense work
so I was at least qualified for this. I came into the case too late to try and
get a better deal for Jennifer. She was convicted and given the the chance to
opt for corporal punishment instead of jail or a fine. After conviction, her
parents decided not to appeal. I think they figured that having to get a
Certificate of Correction would teach Miss Jennifer a good lesson while having
the effect of expunging her record. Jennifer and some friends had been out late
one night and had been stopped for a traffic violation. The officer then found
open liquor bottles in the car. She was charged with possesion of alchohol. She
also happened to be the one driving. Luckily she was not under the influence.
Juvenile case officers have a role in the discipline of their charges. They are
present when the correction is meted out. The reason for this is so that the
juvenile will look on the officer as an authority figure from whom to take
direction, and would more likely obey the officer in the future. In addition
case officers are authorized to administer certain forms of corporal correction
for probation violations.
Today Karen is there because two of her charges have come in to obtain their
Certificates of Correction, having elected this option. I did not know who the
other one was.
Karen is a short blonde with a voluptuous figure, large breasts, a tight waist
and a magnificent and gorgeous ass. In fact I know for a fact that she thinks
her butt is "too big". As for me I am completely enthralled with the sway of her
jouncy hind end. I like full derrieres on women, and to me, Karen is a beautiful
and sexy woman. I have known Karen for something like 7 years. We have been
friends, but not physically intimate with each other. Its hard to say why. The
chemistry and attraction is certainly there and we have both flirted with it. I
guess its just bad timing. We've been close even though we have at times been
with other people. It just seems like whenever I'm not in a relationship, she
is, and vice-versa. Now, however she is divorced and I've just broken up with
someone. We'll see what happens.
I am seated behind a glass partition in a sort of gallery with the rest of the
witnesses. The other witnesses permitted are the victims. There is a husband and
wife, owners of a food mart spray painted, or as they say, "tagged", by several
of the other juvenile offenders. Other than the witnesses, the room is empty. We
are waiting for things to start. Karen had explained to me previously that on
the appointed day the juvenile would have to report three hours before sentence
was scheduled to be carried out. A brief physical is given to verify that the
culprit is fit to undergo punishment. The case officers then conduct a last
interview explaining the seriousness of the crime, and explainig the procedure.
The state has even produced videos on offenses like drunk driving and vandalism
that the teens are required to view before punishment is meted out. The video
graphically illustrates the harm to society caused by the crime.
The teen is then led to a holding cell where he or she strips down to
underwear and socks. That was all the clothing allowed in the punishment
chamber. After that, they wait. The waiting is probably as hard as the actual
punishment. They sit in a bare cell, probably the last sitting they'll do for a
while.
Karen has been in this job for less than a year. She counsels juvenile offenders
as part of her job and sometimes that involves advising them as to whether they
should take "the CP option" if it is available for that offense. She tells me
she is conflicted about this. On the one hand, it offers a way to eliminate the
negative effect of a record and avoid time in juvie hall, a good deal for
youthful offenders. In fact after obtaining a Certificate of Correction she
tells me that there is little recidivism. Did I mention that similair
punishments are given in the prison system? I imagine that the prospect of the
whipping post like we have in Ohio scares a lot of these kids
straight---especially after getting a licking courtesy of the state. On the
other hand it is humiliating, to say the least, and probably very painful. This
is Karen's first time attending one of these punishment sessions for her cases
where she actually advised the kids and parents to go through with it. I know
she set me up to represent Jennifer so that I could attend and give her my
comments later. She will want my opinion as to whether she should advise this
course in the future.
Finally a door opens and three case officers and the Special Corrections Officer
with her two assistants enter. All corrections officers, the ones who will
administer the punishment, are women. The assistant officers are wearing smartly
tailored skirts and white blouses with a badge on the front. The Special officer
is a beefy red-haired woman in a Khacki uniform and a Sam Browne belt. She looks
like a formidable no nonsense type of woman. I was glad to be on my side of the
glass.
Another door opens and 6 teenagers are ushered in by guards holding clipboards.
The boys are in underpants and socks. The girls are in panties, bras, and socks.
There are 3 boys and 3 girls. The clipboards are handed to the case officers.
The miscreants sit on 6 chairs lined up direcly in front of the gallery with
their backs to us. Jennifer glances nervously at me before taking her seat. I
give her the thumbs up. What else is there to do?
In the "business" part of the room is some odd furniture. There are two benches,
each having a padded top. The top is shaped like a shallow "A" with restraints
at either end. An integral part of the bench is a slideable chair that slides
into a hollow space right under the apex of the bench. This is a spanking bench.
The victim is secured to the bench with wrist and ankle straps, a strap at the
backs of the knees and a strap across the middle of the back, with his/her
buttocks positioned at the apex. The officer sits at the chair and slides it in.
She is now seated with the miscreant directly over her lap, bottoms up. The
effect is rather like having the teen positioned for an old fashioned
over-the-knee spanking. The advantage is that the officer does not have the
weight of the culprit over her lap and the juvenile cannot move at all.
The other piece of furniture was what was known as "The Box". This is a padded
cube tilted slightly forward on short legs with restraints at wrists, ankles,
knees and back. When bent over the box and strapped in, the culprit's buttocks
are cocked upwardly presenting a raised, well rounded target for the application
of corporal correction.
The Special Officer was ready to start. Karen glanced at me and nodded with a
slight smile.
"All right, pay attention. I am Ms Carson. My two assistants are Ms Miriam and
Ms Doreen. You already know your case officers. If you cooperate this will be
over soon and you may leave. As you know you are here for punishment, pure and
simple. It will hurt, but you will bear no permanent marks on your bodies. I,
along with my assistant officers will be administering the punishment. Now, make
no mistake about this, it will hurt. You will probably cry and holler, but don't
think that just because you start blubbering like babies that it will go any
easier. You got that? This is the procedure. There are six of you. Two at a
time you will be placed over the spanking benchs. You will have your pants
pulled down and you will receive a two, three or four minute spanking to be
given by my two assistants according to your sentence. During this time period
you will receive about 50 smacks per minute on you bare tails with this." As she
spoke she held up an oval shaped paddle which was in reality a stiff piece of
leather sole with a rubber facing connected to a handle.
"We call this the "sandal". Maybe if your mothers had used their sandals on your
little hineys when you were younger you would not be here today. You are getting
your records wiped clean for this, so just know that it's gonna sting."
"After all six of you have had your spankings, I will call your name and one at
a time you will come up here and bend over the box for the licking that the
court has decreed as the second part of your sentence."
She let that sink in as the woeful teens eye the dreaded implements that hang on
the wall. There are the oval "sandals" the assistant officers would use. There
is a paddle that looks like a big spatula. It is made of some synthetic like
Lexan. The blade or "business" end is 4x8" and has pencil-sized holes. It is
joined to a handle by a narrow 2" strip that makes it flexible, like a fly
swatter. The result is a paddle that will impart an atrocious sting without
injury or severe bruising. There is also a thin rod made of some lightweight
synthetic polymer. The rod extends from a handle grip about 28". It is thin and
very whippy. It's the nearest thing we have to the cane, but it is more like a
switch which I have heard stings like absolute holy hell. I also understand it
leaves painful weals but, in the hands of a skilled whipper, will not break the
skin. Ms Carson continues: "You are all going to get a good, hard spanking
today, followed by a whipping with the rod or licks with the paddle and you all
deserve it. Now, from this moment on there will be no swearing, cursing, foul
or abusive language. You will address all of us as ma'am or sir. I have the
power to impose additional punishment for violations of this rule and believe
me, I will do it. Do you understand?"
Six heads bob nervously. The fear in the room is palpable. This woman meant
business! Jennifer appears to be trembling. I couldn't help her now, her course
was set. She was to endure some real pain and she knew it. I wondered what it
must be like in her place, to know that in a few minutes you were going to be
stripped practically naked and whipped on your bare bottom.
The two assistants take the clipboards and each call out a name. One girl and
one boy rise timidly. The assistants take each by the arm and walk them to the
benchs. The command is given to lie over the bench, and both teens do so. The
restraining straps are buckled, hands, feet, back of the knees, back. This
arches both sets of buttocks towards the ceiling. The assistants grab both pants
and panties and ruck them down to mid thigh. They walk to the wall and retrieve
a "spanker" from a hook. The assistant corrections officers now take their seats
and slide the chairs in. The moment of truth has arrived for these teen
miscreants.
"Set the timer for two minutes for these two" Ms Carson says to a guard. The
guard nods and presses a series of buttons. A digital display on the wall reads
two minutes. I assume it will count down.
"Miriam, Doreen, are you ready?"
"Then begin."
Miriam and Doreen bring the sandals down with a ringing smack! smack! smack! in
a brisk tattoo. They spank at a rate of about 1 spank per second and each one
looks like it is delivered with no small amount of force. The bare bottomed
teens start to yelp as the paddles crack down. The girl jerks her head up and
wails with each smack, the boy clenches his whole body in a vain attempt to ward
off the pain. Its a humiliating punishment and it is designed that way. These
kids are getting an old fashioned spanking like one over mommy's knee. The
position each is in is mortifying for a teenager, bare fannies bucking and
wriggling as sizzling spanks turn their hineys red. The clock counts down...too
slowly it seems. The smacks ring out. The teens yelp in anguish at the
relentless smacking, a two part chorus of "ouches". After two very long minutes,
the buzzer sounds signalling the end of part 1 of their ordeal. The guards
replace the underwear, and unbuckle the straps and the two teens stand, hopping
from foot to foot rubbing their injured bottoms.
"Thats enough of that! Sit back down you two! Call the next two names."
"Jennifer Scott and Russell Smith, stand up and come forward," intones a guard.
I see Jennifer rise on shaky legs. She is a pretty girl with long coltish legs.
She is small breasted, but has an ample bottom, well rounded, still a good bit
of baby fat back there. It wobbles as she shuffles toward the bench.
"Assume the position," says Ms Carson.
I hear Doreen say to Jennifer: "C'mon Honey, over you go, that's it...no, over
farther so the pad is under your pelvis, bottoms well up!"
"Set the timer for three minutes, please Ms Benson". The guard nods and resets
the timer.
"Doreen and Miriam, take their pants down." Pants and panties are rucked to mid
thigh. Jennifer whimpers. " Ladies, begin....now"
Jennifer howls at the first smack of the sandal on her left bottomcheek. She
continues howling as Doreen delivers a blistering spanking that cracks
alternately on left and right cheeks. Jennifers nude rear wobbles with each
smack. She is fair skinned so she reddens quickly. Her jiggling behind cannot
escape the awful barrage of spanks delivered by Doreen's sturdy arm. I am
watching intently for evidence of undue severity or cruelty, but I see none. The
force of the smacks seems the same as for the first teenager and the tempo is
the same. Its your basic good sound spanking that just stings like hell. I know
she is my client but I cannot deny that this is a highly erotic spectacle and I
am actually becoming aroused watching Jennifer's spanking. Finally the cacophony
of smacks and anguished yelping ends. They let Jennifer up and she walks back to
her chair sobbing and clutching her seat. Karen is watching me watching
Jennifer. I make some notes on a pad and will my erection to subside. Another
two are called up. The girl is a cute brunette pixie, about 5'3", 110 lbs with
long hair and a very cute ass which gets spanked to a tomato red hue amid her
howls for mercy. The boy, a stocky 15 year old howls more than the girl.
The spankings done, we are ready for the main event.
Ms Carson takes the clipboard.
"Mandy Johnson, stand up." Mandy rises slowly. She was one of the first two to
be spanked. She is a tall strawberry blonde with a well fleshed bottom. The tiny
pink nylon panties she wears barely contain her cheeks. It doesn't matter. She
wont have them much longer.
"Mandy Johnson, you have been convicted of theft, namely shoplifting. The
Juvenile Court of Clark County has decreed that to obtain a Certificate of
Correction you must receive ten swats with the paddle on your bare bottom. Come
forward and assume the position over the Box.
Doreen and Miriam each grab an arm and escort Mandy to the Box. She is a well
built girl for her age which I peg at 15 or 16. When buckled into the box, her
rear curves are prominently presented for punishment. It's rather like bending
over a barrel in the woodshed, a bygone era reinstated in the 21st century.
My musings come to a halt. Ms Carson has retieved the perforated paddle from the
wall and has planted her feet to Mandy's right side. She nods to Doreen who
peels down the brief panties exposing Mandy's ass, now a hot pink from the
spanking. She lines up the paddle on Mandy's quivering buttocks and raises her
arm to shoulder level, then..... SMACK! Mandy lets out a shriek. Again....
SMACK! The paddle flattens her fanny sending little ripples through the flesh.
SMACK! Mandy howls again. Her bottom jiggles at impact. SMACK! Four. SMACK!
Five. The smacks come about 15 seconds apart. Mandy sobs and pleads but SMACK!
the paddling continues until ten licks have been duly administered. The guards
unbuckle the restraints and help her up. Tears are streaming down her face. They
escort her back to her chair. I don't think it's padded. She sits very gingerly.
The next name is called and the boy spanked with Mandy is put over the Box and
paddled. His sentence is 15 licks. He breaks down crying after 8. The next one
is Russell Smith. His crime is vandalism. He is one of the taggers. The husband
and wife grocery store owners perk up. This is part of what they came to see.
The boy bends over the box and is strapped in. Miriam strips his pants down. Ms
Carson replaces the paddle on the wall and selects a rod. She whips it through
the air a few times, testing its flex. It makes a whining sound. Russell's
buttocks clench at the sound.
"This will hurt, boy, but it will hurt a lot more if you clench. Now relax those
butt cheeks," she says tapping his ass with the switch. Russell moans in
embarrassment, but tries to comply. Ms Carson brings the switch back and with a
deft flick of the wrist, whips it down with a SWISSSH.....THWACK! "Ahhh....rrrr"
screams Russell. This looks a lot more painful than the paddle. Jennifer should
be grateful that she is getting the paddle and not this whippy rod.
SWISSHHH......THWACK! "Ow....ow....ow", yells the boy in anguish. The switch
falls 8 more times, whippy wristy strokes that smack the bare skin, indenting
the flesh and leaving livid red weals. Russell is no hero. He howls lustily with
each stinging stripe of the rod. The 10 strokes are given at intervals of about
20 seconds between each one. This allows the pain from one stroke to be fully
"appreciated" before another is given.
When Russell's whipping is over he is allowed to rise. He clutches his cheeks
trying to soothe the intense sting. His face is flushed and streaked with tears.
He is escorted back to his chair. It now looks like it's Jennifers turn. Her
name is called. The charge is read along with the sentence-12 licks with the
paddle. She stands on wobbly legs and Doreen leads her to the Box. There is a
look of panic on her face. She lays down over the Box arching her pretty
buttocks upward. Her thin panties are stretched tight across her bottom in this
posture. They won't protect her long.
Ms Carson retieves the paddle from the hook on the wall. She nods to Doreen who
peels Jennifer's panties down for the second time that day.
I can't say that Jennifer's paddling was unfair or too severe. The swats are
given full force, and poor Jennifer howls at each one, but she is paddled with
the same degree of severity as the others. Ms Carson administers good solid
smacks that crack like pistol shots, making Jennifer's cheeks wobble on impact.
Her fanny turns a tomato red as the swats are laid on. Jennifers cries out but
my angle is poor and I cannot see if she is crying tears yet. I assume she is.
Twelve solid licks-5 minutes of agony. It is a trying ordeal, no doubt. Ms
Carson raises her arm for the twelvth lick and SMACK! "Owwwwww!", and it's
over. Jennifer is let up. She is weeping copiously, her face a mask of
humiliation and pain. I know Karen and I will interview her before she leaves.
The other punishments proceed. The others, the taggers, are given the rod. This
is the sentence for vandalism. No one endures the whipping without breaking
down. The whippings are hard but I see no skin breaking. There are tears and
howls aplenty. Ms Carson obviously knows her business. The idea is to administer
maximum pain with minimum damage.
The session completed, The teens are led back to their holding cells where they
may dress. Karen and I will interview Jennifer before she leaves with her
parents who are waiting. I catch up with Karen as I approach the interview room.
"Well," she says, "what did you think?"
"I think it was pretty intense. Those kids really got their butts whipped. They
all bawled like babies."
"Yeah, it was....like a bad prison movie, you know....only it was real. I don't
know. I wonder how much it really hurts, what it feels like."
"You can find out," I said with a grin. "Ms Carson can show you, I'm sure."
She punched me playfully. "Not on your life. That woman is scary."
"Then maybe I can demonstrate, my dear."
I expected another dig in the ribs but Karen just cocked her head and gave me a
cool, appraising look. She then said, "If you're not doing anything tonight,
I'll take you to dinner. I want to talk to you about today."
I readily agreed. We walked into the interview room, where Karen would give her
charges their signed certificates. Jennifer was there, standing, naturally. Her
face was still flushed and streaked from crying.......
Part 2 is coming. A Date With Karen
