By C1 Staff
HIGH POINT, N.C. — Three men who pleaded guilty to domestic violence received a sentence they weren’t expecting.
Judge Mark Cummings ordered the men to carry signs that said “This is the face of domestic violence” outside of the local courthouse, Fox 8 reported.
“It’s pure hell, that’s what it’s like,” Melvin Southerland, one of the convicted men, said. “It’s hell, it’s embarrassment.”
Two of the men said although they pleaded guilty, they didn’t commit the crime. They told the news station they admitted guilt so they could get out of jail.
"[The judge] said I could do 15 days in jail or stand out here,” Southerland said. “So I choose to come out here.”
Southerland said he carried the sign so he wouldn’t miss class for his associate’s degree, but thinks the punishment isn’t very effective.
“I think the court system should be set up as a form of punishment and a form of re-educating an individual,” Southerland said. “I don’t see much in being re-educated in being made to walk around and carry a sign.”
Shay Harger, director of victim services at Family Services of the Piedmont, told the news station that domestic violence “thrives in secrecy and in the dark” so this punishment gets people to have a conversation.
“We need to make sure we are getting proper treatment for behavioral change for these men,” Harger said.
She said Victim Services offers a 26-week program for those convicted of assault on a female.