Florida Judge Cruelly Attacks Sick Woman, The Unthinkable Happens 3 Days Later
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A Florida judge was caught on camera berating a sick defendant over her breathing problems. However, things took an unexpected turn just a few days later. Now, the judge is the one in the hot seat.
Nobody is going to say our criminal justice system is perfect, but most citizens have faith in the system because of the hard work and dedication of our judges. We demand that the people presiding over our fate be honest, intelligent, and decent. A judge’s ruling can determine the future of an entire life. The least they can do is show respect.
Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Perhaps it’s because of reality TV shows that depict judges as hard-as-nails. Perhaps it’s the stress of the job. Whatever the case may be, we sometimes discover that a judge is not treating a person the way they should.
Take this case in Broward County, Florida. Judge Merrilee Ehrlich was presiding over a case concerning Sandra Faye Twiggs, who was facing misdemeanor charges over a family dispute. Not a ground-breaking case, but it was important, nonetheless. The defendant, while in court, was having trouble breathing.
The judge was not interested in showing the wheelchair-bound defendant any sympathy. She cruelly berated the woman, dismissing her concerns over her health problems. As it turns out, Twiggs suffered from asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. After the harsh treatment in court, the defendant died three days later.
Video of the confrontation has been released online. People have speculated a connection between the judge’s treatment of the woman and her death. Now Judge Ehrlich has been relieved of duty. Most likely, for good.
A Florida judge was relieved of her duties Friday after berating a woman in a wheelchair who was having trouble breathing due to two medical conditions and who died at home three days after the encounter…
The judge’s berating of Twiggs was so extreme that the wheelchair-bound woman’s public defender, Howard Finkelstein, called for the judge to be banned from presiding over criminal proceedings…
During the video, which was posted on YouTube and as a comment on a judicial gossip site, Twiggs asks about receiving treatments and the judge can be heard shouting her down, saying, “I’m not here to talk about your breathing treatments.”
…At another point in the hearing, the judge shouted, “You’ve already said too much!” [Source: Fox News]
It’s hard to say why the judge behaved the way she did. From the video, you can see Twiggs was not being difficult. Unlike many other defendants, she was not belligerent, rude, or dismissive of the proceedings. For some reason, Ehrlich quickly became annoyed by the defendant and shouted at her several times.
Perhaps Ehrlich was stressed out and overworked. It’s possible she was allowing outside factors to influence her job. Or maybe she just is no longer fit to serve as a judge over such cases. Regardless of the reason, the confrontation left the defendant rattled for days to come.
“We never knew anything about this video until yesterday,” Carolyn Porter, Twiggs’ goddaughter, told the Florida publication. “She tried to tell us how they treated her, but she had anxiety, and every time she tried to