Get a Covid-19 vaccine or face a jail or judge order on probation
In Ohio, as in the rest of the country, private companies can impose their own requirements on employees and customers. Federal government workers are required to get vaccinated or have regular tests, but state and local authorities set their own rules. In Ohio, more than 800 school districts and other local units operate independently, said Dan Tierney, a spokesman for Governor Mike DeWine, on Monday.
Mr. DeWine said Ohio is a state that is exemplary of double the risk of infection. "Those who are vaccinated are safe, those who are not vaccinated are not safe," he said.
Updated
8/9/2021, 9:20 p.m. ET
When asked about his decision, Judge Frye said in an email on Monday that he had issued vaccine orders three times and that none of the defendants had raised medical or religious objections.
"Ohio law allows judges to issue reasonable parole to rehabilitate the defendant and protect the community," said Judge Frye. He said vaccination, based on medical evidence, would protect others and make those on probation safer as they seek or keep jobs.
Sharona Hoffman, professor and co-director of the Law-Medicine Center at Case Western Reserve University's School of Law, said it was unusual to combine the conviction with the vaccine.
"Judges get creative with keeping people out of prison," she said. “They impose all kinds of penalties, and again this is for the benefit of the person. And when you're out in the community, you can't go around infecting people with Covid. "
In some states, such as Georgia, judges have offered reduced sentences when defendants are vaccinated, WSB-TV in Atlanta reports. Earlier this year, prisoners in Massachusetts were offered the option of a reduced sentence for receiving the vaccine, but the decision was later overturned.
