Judge tells trio to get jobs, learn English, finish school

WILKES-BARRE, PA. -- A Pennsylvania judge known for creative sentencing has ordered three Spanish-speaking men to learn English or go to jail.

Judge Peter Paul Olszewski says the men, who faced prison for criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, can remain on parole if they learn to read and write English.

They must also earn their high school equivalency degrees and get full-time jobs.

The men all needed translators when they pleaded guilty Tuesday, and the judge suggested they could not be provided with such services for their entire lives.

"My client is happy," lawyer Ferris Webby said. "I think it's going to help him."

 

Olszewski ordered the three to return with their parole officers in a year and take an English test.

"If they don't pass, they're going in for the 24 (months)," he said.

In the past, Olszewski has ordered young defendants who are school dropouts to finish school. He often orders defendants to get full-time employment and has his staff co-ordinate with an employment agency to help them find the jobs.