BANGOR — A federal judge Friday denied a local man’s request that he be flogged in public rather than sent to prison.
U.S. District Judge John Woodcock said the law would not allow him to order that Domingos Nobrega, 34, of Bangor receive two lashes for each year of his sentence.
That order was issued three days after Woodcock granted a motion made by defense attorney Jeffrey Silverstein of Bangor for Nobrega to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Silverstein cited his client’s request to be flogged as one reason the motion should be granted. Federal prosecutions did not object to the request.
In his ruling, Woodcock disputed Nobrega’s contention that corporal punishment statutes have not been repealed.
“Setting aside whether a sentence of a public flogging would violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, Congress expressly outlawed whipping in 1839,” the judge wrote in his three-page ruling. “As part of the 1984 and 1987 sentencing reforms [to the Comprehensive Crime Control Act], instead of listing the punishments a federal court could not impose, Congress set forth the sentences that a federal court could impose and it nowhere authorized whipping.”
Nobrega, who legally changed his name from Shawn Alan Nobrega to Domingos Nobrega, was convicted in May by a federal jury of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
In late November, Nobrega filed a motion “asking for 2 lashes for every year given to him as sentence to be imposed upon him.” The defendant acknowledged in his motion that flogging would be prohibited under the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
“The defendant does not want to be part of the 2.5 million people locked up in the United States prison system and be part of a prison statistic,” Nobrega wrote. “The defendant feels he will benefit and learn more of why not to break the United States laws and will remember it if he is granted this type of sent[e]nce of corp[o]ral punishment or public flogging.”
Nobrega has been held without bail since he was taken into custody early on Oct. 24, 2010, at his apartment at 751 Main St. in Bangor after a standoff with police. State charges related to that incident are pending. He was arrested two days later upon his release from Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Hospital in Bangor.
A competency hearing and sentencing will not be scheduled until after the psychiatric evaluation has been completed, most likely at an out-of-state facility. There are no federal prisons or hospitals in Maine.
Nobrega faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
” . . . receive two lashes for each year of his sentence.”
That’s too lenient, should be one lash per Day.
not a fan of the corporal punishment in most cases, unless it’s a rather heinous crime. Normally, I would consider whipping cruel and unusual, but is it still cruel (definitely unusual) if the defendant requests that type of punishment?
Let me wrap my brain pan around this unfolding story that will soon grow to mythological proportions.
Nobrega will be sentenced to prison in Maine where their current therapeutic model is based on using sodomy as a rehabilitation tool. C’mon fess up I know you all watch those Scared Straight National Geographic Specials LOL
Who is the real perp here?
Woodcock with his 4 years undergraduate degree and 3 year law school degree
making a educated (LOL) decision to send Nobrega to prison where he will be surrounded 24/7 with role models who deal with stress by raping children, murdering voters, robbing mom and pop grocery stores and burning down homes. I know, I know you are going to say what about those perps from Goldman Sachs and Wall Street. Nobody has gone to prison for those kind of crimes and besides that is where Judge Woodcock invests his money. also see
Border Patrol agent, state prison corrections officer arrested
January 20, 2012 1:58 PM
A Yuma sector Border
Patrol agent and a corrections officer at a local state prison have been
arrested and charged with conspiracy to possess controlled substances
with the intent to distribute.
http://www.yumasun.com/news/agent-76071-border-public.html
What about Nobrega being sent by Woodcock to a Mental Wealth facility to see if he is
all there because he prefers flogging to the electronic cesspools called the Maine State Prison system?
Personally I think Maine Voters and taxpayers need to be evaluated as to why they allow their tax dime to be used to create more vicious and competent criminals.
$35,000.00 of your tax dime is spent to keep one inmate in a Maine prison for one year.
Court costs, police costs and costs to the victim are not included in that $35,000.00 figure LOL
This guy will go to a Federal Prison if he pleads guilty or is found guilty in a Federal Court, where his case is being heard. He will not be going to Maine State Prison.
You pay Federal taxes that fund the Federal Prison system no different than Maine.
That is true. Your post seemed to be bashing the Maine Prison System in particular. This person will not be a part of that system at all. Having first hand experience with the Federal Court and Prison System I will tell you that regardless of what you may think they do not mess around.
….
Federal Convictions result in points be given for each criminal conviction. There is a scale of sentences that a defendant in Federal Court can be given based on how many points they have in regards to criminal history or criminal behavior.
which means…….what?
The guy that was hammered and was driving the car in which my son and another was killed faced 2 counts of manslaughter…..he got 3 and a half years.
Don’t talk about sentencing guidelines, when they all know they aren’t followed.
Sentencing Guidelines are followed in Federal Court. They are set by Congress and the Federal Judge has about zero leeway in deviating from them. When you are charged with a Federal Crime you recieve an amount of points based on what you have been charged with and other details of your crime. Every Defendant in Federal Court pretty much knows how much time they will be sentenced within a few short weeks after being indicted. Say a defendant robs a bank. That is worth 30 points(for the sake of conversation). He also used a weapon. He recieves an additional ten points as his original crime includes a weapon. He will continue to recieve points if he was not legally entitled to own a weapon or the weapon was unregistered. If the gun was fired there are more points added on. Points for having a previous criminal record are added on. So lets say this robber has 80 points by the time it is all figured out what crime he committed and how he committed it. The Federal Judge is then going to look at the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and read that 80 points equals 400 months in federal prison. They sentence defendants to months to serve in the Federal System not years. As I mention, the judge has about zero leeway to lower the required sentence and if he does so he must make a written report that is reviewed by the Justice Department.
Im very sorry about your son. In his case I dont think killing two people while drunk would merit such a light sentence. If this crime had occured on Federal Property such as in a National Park it would have resulted in a much heavier sentence for the defendant. Again Im very sorry about your son.
I would be a strong supporter of mandatory sentences or a very strict sentencing system like the Feds have here in Maine Courts.
By the way, I know all this information through the experience of an extended family member.
Yea Maine voters and taxpayers primary consumers and owners of the prison system are assigned Federal payroll tax deductions when they take home their paycheck to pay for these electronic cesspools called prisons that are no more than revolving doors and schools for crime.
The reason the Justice System is criminal is because the inmates are running the system, the system being prison courts and cops who collaborate together to grow their Crime is Big Business corporation.
I can think of no other business that exists that wouldn’t go out of business if it had the failure
rate that our County State and Federal criminal justice system operates under.
Until Maine voters and taxpayers create a volunteer civilian police review board that has subpoena powers and control over hiring and firing in their Justice is Criminal system it will be a three ring circus designed like a black hole to pour endless tax dollars into.
I assume everybody knows the perp in this article was in prison before.
Wait this just in….from the taxfoundationdotorg
Americans will work well over three months of the year, from January 1
to April 12, before they have earned enough money to pay this year’s tax
obligations at the federal, state and local levels.
Americans will pay more in taxes in 2011 than they will spend on groceries, clothing and shelter combined.
Its all a big CROCK, a money power game. sorry for your loss.
There goes that afternoon’s entertainment….
All prison sentences ought to be decided by computers. They would have all the statistics and eventually would give decent sentences. Unless of course you are guilty of hacking, then it would be a beheading.
1839?, I watched Kunta Kinta get a few lashing in the late 70’s
Judge Woodcock has a sister who is a US Assistant District Attorney in Vermont.
My mother raised her 5 boys alone, well almost alone, she had this yellow wiffel ball bat, and knew how to use it. Now the 4 older brother got the bat when needed, as for the baby of the family, well he was the baby and she was getting tired and older, so he did not get it much as needed. The 4 older are all hard working men making a good living and raising great families. The baby , my brother dies 5 yeard ago of a drug over dose. The reason I’m saying this is because I believe a lot of the problems we are having today is because we do not spank our childern when they need it! Now no reason to start jumping on me over my comment. For my family in the 60’s and 70’s, spanking was still being used!
My children still get a spank when they need it. They received a few when they were younger but haven’t needed one for a long time, you know the best part, they do what we ask of them and are respectful to boot and do not talk back.
You know, this place is getting totally nuts.
Now wait a minute, this opens up some ideas. How about when someone steals, their hand is cut off in public.
Yea Maine voters and taxpayers primary consumers and owners of the
prison system are assigned Federal payroll tax deductions when they take
home their paycheck to pay for these electronic cesspools called
prisons that are no more than revolving doors and schools for crime.
The reason the Justice System is criminal is because the inmates are
running the system, the system being prison courts and cops who
collaborate together to grow their Crime is Big Business corporation.
I can think of no other business that exists that wouldn’t go out of business if it had the failure
rate that our County State and Federal criminal justice system operates under.
Until Maine voters and taxpayers create a volunteer civilian police
review board that has subpoena powers and control over hiring and firing
in their Justice is Criminal system it will be a three ring circus
designed like a black hole to pour endless tax dollars into.
I assume everybody knows the perp in this article was in prison before.
Wait this just in….from the taxfoundationdotorg
Americans will work well over three months of the year, from January 1
to April 12, before they have earned enough money to pay this year’s tax
obligations at the federal, state and local levels.
Americans will pay more in taxes in 2011 than they will spend on groceries, clothing and shelter combined.
this guy had a standoff with 50, is a felon, what is there to talk about lock him up lots of air being wasted on this subject
If he didn’t want to be part of 2.5 million people locked up in the United States prison system then he shouldn’t have been a dumbass to begin with.
How about a Comprimise?
Flogg him AND imprison him!
Give him both!
Isn’t a 10 year sentence 18 to 24 months under federal guidelines? I can certainly figure out his flogging request. Why waste more taxpayers money figuring out how a criminals mind works? Do we really need to know?