Judge Grants Man's Request for Longer Sentence

It�s not every day a criminal being sentenced is given what he asks for. But when Chris Cornell asked for an extended sentence to what was initially proposed in [Yukon] territorial court last Wednesday afternoon, he received just that.

�A somewhat unusual request,� Judge Karen Ruddy commented when asked for the sentence.

She had proposed a sentence of 12 1/2 months to be served concurrently for charges of break and enter and theft, as well as time served for possession of stolen property and theft/forgery of a credit card and a 12-month probation term to follow.

However, Cornell asked if he could address the court, and told the judge he wanted a longer sentence.

�I�d rather do jail time than probation,� he said. . . .

Crown prosecutor John Phelps also told the court there was a concern about the reintegration of Cornell after his jail term.

Cornell said he would rather get a longer sentence of two years that would take him to the federal system for programming [drug rehab] there offered to inmates. [The] Court heard earlier the crimes [stealing a Dodge Dakota] were related to a drug problem the 23-year-old has that he�s now trying to deal with.

That's pretty cool. The judge went along with his plan, enabling him to get drug treatment while incarcerated. Details here from the Whitehorse Star.