Why Wayne County Judge 'Frames' Ex-Offenders

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Deborah Thomas says that without a high school education, it’s too easy for young defendants to make decisions that land them in jail. (Photo via judgepedia.org)

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If you find yourself appearing before Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Deborah Thomas and your high school diploma or GED certificate isn’t hanging on the wall of her courtroom, prepare to get something for the school teacher-turned-jurist to frame.

Thomas regularly hands out sentences that require criminal defendants who are drop-outs to complete high school, but began displaying proof of their completion in the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice a couple of years ago, The Detroit News reports.

“It motivates them,” said Thomas, who believes a high school education can mean the difference between living inside and outside of the law among the offenders – most of them between the ages of 19-22 – who appear in her courtroom.

“Their job prospects are more limited, they have lower self-esteem. But when they have (the diploma) they have success, they realize ‘I can succeed at other things,’ ” Thomas said. “I have two individuals who have promised me bachelor’s degrees.”

DeQuane Curry, 19, of Detroit, says he will begin studying to become a registered nurse in January because Thomas told him that without an education, “there is no path you can go down.”

Curry was a semester shy of graduating from Covenant High school Academy in March when he appeared before Thomas on a misdemeanor probation violation. On Dec. 22, he returned to her courtroom with his diploma in hand.

“It woke me up and made me realize my diploma is the best thing I’ve got going,” Curry said. “It feels good.”

Thomas, who has spent 20 years on the bench, has been recruited as a candidate for the Michigan Supreme Court twice. Though unsuccessful, she used her campaigns a bully pulpit to champion issues such as equality in representation among African-Americans and women, according to an interview with the progressive Eclecta Blog posted prior to the November election.

Thomas grew up in Detroit, the middle of three daughters raised by a single parent after their father died of cancer when Thomas was 10. She learned the importance of education at her mother’s knee – sometimes in hard-to-swallow lessons. For example, when she dreamed of becoming an interior designer at 17, her mother steered her toward a career that promised more jobs and opportunity, especially for African-Americans. Thomas chose education.

“I tried to get a teaching job but there were no contracts. There were more teachers than there were positions,” Thomas told the Eclecta Blog. “So my mom showed up again – it was easy because I was living at her house! – and she said, ‘Education. Job. Didn’t we have this conversation?’ ”

The conversation echoes in the sentences Thomas doles out in her courtroom two decades later. The pride Curry and others feel at seeing their diplomas and GED certificates displayed in her courtroom is foreign for many, she said.

“No one ever encouraged them or put anything of theirs on the refrigerator,” Thomas said. “(The diploma wall) is a lesson that you can achieve. You have to work at it and in the long run it pays off.

“I tell them just because you came through here doesn’t mean this has to be your permanent route (in life). We punish negative behavior. We should reward positive behavior.”