"The sickest thing that's ever happened in this town" is how an Atlanta judge described the massive cheating scandal that embroiled the city's public school system. Given that thousands of children were robbed of learning by educators who selfishly wanted to advance their careers and enrich themselves, it is hard to disagree with that assessment or the need to punish the perpetrators. But the unusually harsh prison sentences meted out last week seemed to be more retaliation for the defendants' refusal to enter plea deals than fitting punishment.
Last Tuesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter sentenced eight of 10 educators to prison terms ranging from one to seven years for racketeering in connection with a sophisticated, years-long scheme to inflate students' test scores. The seven-year sentences handed down to three high-level school system administrators were more severe than prosecutors had requested, harsher than those in similar cheating scandals elsewhere, and even longer than what some criminals get for violent crimes.
It's easy to understand the judge's fury, which he made clear last week: "Everyone starts crying about these educators . . . there were thousands of children harmed in this thing. This is not a victimless crime." But justice is supposed to be dispassionate, and just a day before, the judge had indicated that he wanted to avoid prison terms as he urged defendants to strike deals with prosecutors.
The judge had framed his unusual move to get the defendants to agree with prosecutors on a sentence, effectively bringing a close to the case, as a desire to "heal the open wound" that the scandal has caused the city and its schools. But by imposing punishment so out of proportion and ignoring what Judge Baxter acknowledged was the previous good work of the educators, he has only added to the city's pain. We hope he reconsiders; a better result would be to order the educators to spend the years they are slated to spend behind bars to giving remedial help to the students they cheated.
Editorial on 04/21/2015