In a recent legal matter, hundreds of offenders who owed fines or fees were listed in a courtroom in Marion, Alabama due to various crimes. This was the courtroom of Judge Marvin Wiggins who has been a circuit court judge in Alabama since 1999. The Judge felt that donating blood would be an appropriate punishment for these mostly low-income offenders, despite the offense. As he came in to the courtroom, he stated “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. For your consideration, there’s a blood drive outside. If you don’t have any money, go out there and give blood and bring in a receipt indicating you gave blood.”
The Judge then went on to say that if people did not have any money or not want to give blood, “The sheriff has enough handcuffs.” Legal and health experts find this type of repercussions to be inappropriate and improper, with a professor at the Langone Medical Center stating that “What happened is wrong in about 3,000 ways. You’re basically sentencing someone to an invasive procedure that doesn’t benefit them and isn’t protecting the public health.” The Judge would not comment. You can read the full story regarding this issue at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/20/us/for-offenders-who-cant-pay-its-a-pint-of-blood-or-jail-time.html?_r=0.
The offenders were told to bring a receipt to the clerk showing they had given a pint of blood, and in return they would receive a $100 credit toward their fines, and be allowed to go free. The Southern Poverty Law Center was in total disagreement with this type of sentence and proceeded to file an ethics complaint against Judge Wiggins, stating that “he had committed a violation of bodily integrity.” Such a sentence is unethical and unconstitutional.
Our effort in this petition is to encourage the impeachment of Judge Marvin Wiggins who literally forced low-income offenders to donate blood as a form of retribution and payment for their crimes. A spokesperson who recorded the proceedings of the court stated that “It’s just wrong for them to utilize people who are in the court system and essentially extort blood out of you because you owe traffic tickets, misdemeanors, felonies, whatever you’re there for.” You can help us in our efforts regarding this issue by signing and sharing this petition.
Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission – We strongly urge you to take file a complaint with the Alabama court of the judiciary. The court of the judiciary may censure, suspend, or remove a judge. Judge Marvin Wiggins believes it is appropriate and ethical to implement a fine of blood donations to low-income offenders in his courtroom. Judge Wiggins needs to be investigated and removed from the seat that gives him the permission to inflict such a sentence to these people for whatever their crimes. It is unconstitutional and unethical.
