Montana State Representative Introduces Corporal Punishment Bill

January 31, 2013

HELENA, Montana: Representative Jerry O'Neil (R) sponsored a bill that would allow defendants to bargain with the court to receive corporal punishment in lieu of incarceration. The bill would apply to both misdemeanors and felonies but requires that the exact nature of the corporal punishment to be imposed be commensurate with the severity, nature, and degree of the harm caused by the offender.^[1]

O'Neil said the bill would "allow them to work with restorative justice where these people can be out of prison they can be working, state doesn’t have to pay welfare for their families they don’t lose their jobs."^[2]

Footnotes

[1] thinkprogress.org, "GOP Montana Legislator Wants State To Spank Criminals," January 30, 2013

[2] beartoothnbc.com, "Rep. wants to allow the choice of corporal punishment," January 30, 2013 (dead link)

[1]

[2]

	v • e State of Montana Helena (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? \| Elections in 2026 \| How to vote \| How to run for office \| Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? \| U.S. President \| U.S. Congress \| Federal courts \| State executives \| State legislature \| State and local courts \| Counties \| Cities \| School districts \| Public policy