(Newser)
– A Cincinnati judge has overturned his order to vaccinate a man as part of his parole requirements. It was not the only condition Chris Wagner set for Brandon Rutherford, 21, who was sentenced to two years probation for possession of fentanyl. And Rutherford did not immediately oppose it either. But he didn’t, and now, a month later, there has been nothing left. Wagner revoked the order at a hearing Tuesday, according to the AP. Wagner told Rutherford that it was not his role as a judge to “teach you to be a better person,” the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. In a motion asking the judge to quash the order, Rutherford’s attorney Carl Lewis argued that “it has no rehabilitative purpose” and “has nothing to do with the crime for which he was convicted,” Fox reports. 19.
At the hearing, Wagner alluded to the reason why vaccination was initially part of his order. He said he was one of several judges who had hired COVID and was concerned about the safety of all officials (judges, lawyers, probation officers) that Rutherford would contact in the next two years. He told Rutherford the vaccine is not experimental, but is widely used, and pointed to a local health department program that gave away $ 100 gift cards with Surveyor reports. (Read more COVID-19 stories.)