SELF DEFENSE IS ABOUT YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES

I am including a actual victim impact statement in my post today for readers who still have a tough time thinking of harming and destroying there attacker. This is a victim impact statement form this past week from a friend of mine. A mother who last a 16 year son due to violence. The reason I am sending this is that if you think in a self defense situation that you just want to control your attacker you are basically going to a gun fight with a knife. Meaning your going to get hurt or killed, realize that you may not want to harm someone really bad but if you dont step up to the plate you could end up dead. Leaving your friends and family heart broken, for the rest of there lives. So next time you feel like "I just want to control him" or "I cant hurt someone really bad" think of this mother for she hurts everyday due too the loss of a loved one.




Victim Impact Statement

I can not even begin to describe the emotional pain I have endured since the loss of my beautiful son Matthew. There are no words to explain the pain that emanates from my soul. My life as I knew it, ended on the morning of July 2nd, 2005, when I had to say goodbye forever to my 16 year old son. I would not even get the chance to kiss his beautiful face, or even look into those eyes, as he was covered with blood soaked towels. The only thing I was given to hold were his hands, and even so, the stench of his blood that had seeped into his skin and fingernails remains with me always. Watching my son take his last breath was the most terrifying moment of my life, I wanted it to be me, not this child who had so much to give back to this world, who had so much love to give.

This is my last memory of him before he passed on. Leaving my son’s body at the hospital, and not even getting any of his belongings only exacerbated the situation for me. Not a single item of clothing, jewelry, wallet, nothing was left for me to hold onto to. Driving home from the hospital that day was the longest drive of my life, I knew that his two younger brothers would be anxiously waiting to see their brother coming home with us, with some stitches and cuts, but no, I was left tell them that their brother had succumbed to the brutal assault to his brain and body. I watched his siblings go from being happy little boys, to angry ones, in a matter of hours. Standing in the shower screaming their brother’s name, asking God why? What had they done to deserve this?

For the first 6 months after Matthew passed away, my mind would actually try and tell me that it was a mistake, that the boy who died was not actually my son. I fought hard to repress these feelings, sitting by the bay window of our home, waiting, watching for Matthew to come home as I usually did before his death. It wasn’t until I realized that the reasons I was feeling this was because I never got to see his face, not even during his funeral, as the damage to his head/face were too severe. I truly felt as though I were losing my mind, I really believed he was going to come through the front door. I have since been able to grasp that he is gone, but I will never be okay with it, never.

Matthew’s younger siblings lives will forever be changed, nothing will ever give them pleasure, as they tend to have guilt, guilt for having a moment of happiness, when their big brother will never have any of it. It has taken me over a year to even allow my children the luxury of having any kind of social lives, I’m afraid that something will happen to them, afraid someone will hurt them, or even worse kill them. I have become a hovering mother, who must be in constant contact with my children. If they are even 5 minutes late coming in from school, I begin to panic, and have anxiety. My mind starts to think of the most horrible things, and I’m ready to call the police over every little thing. This of course has taken a toll on my relationship with the boy’s, as they don’t understand why they are being punished for being late after school, or for wanting to go visit their friends. The impact this has had on Matthew’s two younger brothers has been severe. Braydan was just nine at the time of Matthew’s death, and has had to try and deal with the pain in his own little way. He has shown his grief by becoming defiant, and angry at the adults around him. He has had to be removed from the only school he has ever known, due to his inability to focus on his academics. His teachers have informed me that he had begun signing his work, and the school sign in sheets as Matthew Martins, when asked why he had done this, he stated that he wanted to live his life as Matthew, and didn’t want for anyone to forget his brother. He even went as far as to dress exactly as Matthew would in hopes of preserving his brothers’ memory in his own little way. Braydan has also kept Matthew’s shoes at the end of his bed since this happened, and every once in awhile he will slip them on, trying to be close to his brother, he also sleeps in his brothers shirts, and has asked that I not wash them, as he finds comfort in the clothing smelling like his big brother.

He has had to have weekly visits to a child Psychologist, to try and get through his grief with Play Therapy. Braydan will now be moved again for the third time since this all happened to the Alderwood Program, a school for children who need constant therapeutic and psychiatric care. I can only pray that he will find some inner strength to get through all of this, but as a mother I fear that this pain will indeed last for what should be the most carefree, wonderful years of his life. He also carries a little framed photo of his brother where ever he goes, he keeps this in his pocket as a little reminder that Matthew is with him.

Mitchell who was just days away from his 13th Birthday will forever be reminded of his brothers’ death, at a time when he should be celebrating. Mitchell has not been well since this happened, and now suffers with terrible anxiety, and depression. Since his brother’s death, he has begun sleeping with his bedroom lights on, and has left school due to bouts of anxiety and not wanting to leave the house. We continue to try and find Mitchell resources to help, but his reluctance to discuss his problems with others has made it difficult. Mitchell now sleeps in Matthew’s room so that he can feel closer to him, all of Matthew’s pictures and posters just where he had left them. Many nights I hear Mitchell crying himself to sleep, and all I can do is hold him, and comfort him. He cries out in pain for his brother to come back, but I can never bring his brother back, or change the events of that horrible night.

.


When Matthew was killed, I was in the first Trimester of my pregnancy, I fought so hard to try and keep strong, but the shock and stress of it all would eventually challenge the life of my unborn child also. At 27 weeks I was under complete bed rest due to premature labor, and bleeding. I was sent into an even greater depression, afraid I was going to have to endure the loss of another child. This pregnancy and my family were the only thing keeping me together through all of this, and I knew that if I lost this baby, it would for certain be my demise. The thought of Matthew not being able to hold or meet his new baby sister caused me so much grief and angst. It was as though I was constantly being tortured every second of the day and night. The boy’s had begun suppressing their sadness as they saw how this affected me on a daily bases. They would hide and cry, or lash out at others in anger; they no longer trusted the adults around them to protect them from their fears.

My career as a Medical Professional working in Acute/Palliative Care was over, I could no longer perform my duties to assist those who needed my constant focus, and total confidence. The constant anxiety of being in the hospital room began to show in my work ethics, and in this field there is no room for error, when someone’s life is at stake. I felt as though I was reliving the final hours of Matthew’s life every time I entered a patients room. I would see him lying there, taking his last breath. I also tried to return to the Clinic I had been at for a few years before and after Matthew’s death, just to try and keep busy. I found that I know longer felt for the patients the way I had once, I could no longer tolerate the transients, drug addicts that would come in to seek medical attention. I would be angry with them, as I felt that perhaps their lifestyle choices were similar to those who had assaulted my son. I also found myself becoming very upset when young men or women would come in after having been assaulted, I could no longer separate what was happening in my life, with that of work. I have since not returned, and must try now to find other employment, and to think that once I thrived, and loved everything about my job, but now I must resort to trying to find something else.

I unfortunately will never trust again, I have a hatred for others that I never had before. I’m so very angry still, and this I have no doubt will take years to overcome. There are those who have asked me if I could ever find it in my heart to forgive the ones who did this, and I truly don’t think I ever will. I pray that my sons face, and the sound of his screams haunt them for the rest of their living days, as I am haunted by these thoughts every moment of the day. I am plagued with night terrors, I can hear Matthew yelling for help, but I can’t find him, I’m in a panic, running, always running towards the sound of his voice, but I can’t find him. I jolt from these night terrors, and cry uncontrollably, as the thought that my son is calling out for me to help him, and as a mother not being there to protect him when he needs me most, is a pain so great, I can physically feel it.




The financial strain that this has had on my family has been tremendous. I was ill prepared for the cost of Matthew’s funeral. I had no idea how we were going to come up with just under 30,000.00 in less than two weeks. A trust fund was set up, and had it not been for the kindness of strangers, and family, my husband and I would not have been able to bury our son in a manner agreeable to our religious beliefs. It has taken my husband and I until now to finally pay back the financial institutes, and our family members. The strain of this and my not returning to work has created unmentionable financial stress on my husband. He must now support me, and the three children on one income.

The toll this has taken on us can never be repaired. I think of all that Matthew would have grown to be, and all that he will never experience in life. Matthew was to graduate from High School the following year, but instead his chair was left empty, his name never to be called, to walk across the stage feeling triumphant. These things we will never have. Matthew will never know what it feels like to fall in love, to marry the girl of his dreams. He will never watch his own children come into this world. Matthew’s life has been robbed of so many things that can never be replaced. Our lives will forever be altered, a life with so many dreams, and aspirations that will never come to fruition.

Not only has our family suffered this terrible loss, but we have had to endure in graphic details all that Matthew suffered that terrible night. The toll that the past few weeks of this trial has taken on our family is horrendous. Not only did we lose Matthew, but we also lost our Father during the trial. My father died not even knowing the outcome of this trial. We must live the rest of our days, with the constant pain of what we have heard, and seen during this time. I can only pray that we will finally have some closure to this matter, and that my beautiful son will Rest in Peace.


Sandra Martins - Toner
3/21/2007

THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPROVISING DURING SELF DEFENSE SITUATIONS

Being able to improvise is an important factor when it comes to being successful in self defense. You want to be able to think in the process when protecting yourself that if one tactic doesn't work move on to another. The key to being able to do this is lies in your self defense training.

So here is a tip, close your eyes and have your training partner quietly walk around you and attack you from any angle without you knowing when and how he is going to attack. Have him change the way he attacks you everytime, either by attacking from the rear, up high or low, by pushing you or by throwing a drink into your face.

From there you can open your eyes and start defending yourself. If one tactic doesn't work move on into the next. Try to scan the target areas of where you can attack. By improvising you give yourself more options and opportunities to take out your attacker.

SELF DEFENSE CONDITIONING TIP FOR YOUR CHIN

If you have a weak chin you know how easy it is to get knocked out by a blow. We have seen it countless times with fighters in boxing and mixed martial arts, getting an upper cut to the chin and being knocked straight out. The problem is not actually the chin but with having a weak neck. You see when you are hit on the chin by a blow the head tilts backs cutting blood flow and oxygen to the brain immediiately causing you to get knocked out.

So how do you toughen up your chin or most importantly your neck muscles? By performing resistance exercises for your neck an example exercise would be to go on your hands and knees, face down on the ground, have a partner place his hands on the back of your head and resist you as you try to bring your head up. Perform 4 sets of 15-20 reps to help build more strength in your neck muscles. This will help prevent your head from being jarred back quickly making it harder for you to get knocked out.

P.S. Remember self defense is not about exchanging blows though, but about getting the job done as fast as you can.

P.P.S. Make it a habit of tucking in your chin slightly when in your ready stance this will help prevent you from getting knocked out by a sucker punch. Also if someone attempts to choke you out this is a good defensive move making it harder for the person to get his arms around your neck and giving you more ability to bite your attackers arm.

IN SELF DEFENSE TIMING IS EVERYTHING

When students ask me when it is a good time to attack your opponent I always tell them to always attack first and to not wait for anything to come from his way. This allows you to not have to worry about blocking and defending yourself against a fury of punches, kicks or whatever is coming your way and gets you out of defensive mode onto offensive mode. But there is an exception to the rule and that's when you have to borrow some time to get the upper hand.

Lets say you are a woman and are face down on your knees and your attacker is behind you pulling his pants down. This may seem to be a bad spot to be in but tell yourself that you are in control of the situation and use your power of sweet talk to catch him of guard by telling him you will do anything he says. As he brings his pants down to his knees giving you a good leverage point to drop him down to the ground cause his pants are helping you trip him up.

Now simply grap his ankles or pant legs and pull them towards you at the same time bring your torso up and lean on his legs with all your weight. This will cause him to fall back onto the ground, go with the momentum and get up immediately and stomp down on his kneecap to crush it. By simply waiting for his pants to get down to his knees makes your attack much easy to execute successfully.

REPLY TO LAST WEEKS SELF DEFENSE POST REGARDING "DRUNK OFF DUTY COP"

First I would like to say thanks for all those replies. I received a mixed amount of responses which I was going to post but decided not to since it would make this post alittle lengthy. Half of you readers thought of some good answers and hitting the balls seemed to be a popular answer, which I will tell is not that great of a target since most men are conditioned to protect that area and also clothing plays a big factor when it comes to successful execution when it comes to attacking the balls.

The other half seemed to think being nice was going to get them browny points cause they didnt want to piss off the guy even more. Basic idea on that take is to just it and shut up, bad idea. If you haven't seen the video of a passive woman being attacked by a man in a parkade (sorry dont have the link)she did nothing to defend herself and got the living crap beat out of her. Seemed to get worse with the less she did. You should check out the video it will open your eyes to how important fighting back is.

Now for the answer to what the barmaid could of done to protect herself. Well when she was down on the ground on her knees she could of attacked the attackers knees by having one hand grab his ankle and pull his leg or legs towards herself and the other hand push the same leg away from herself. This tactic I have performed countless times and is very effective. This will cause your attacker to drop onto the ground. Get up immediately and begin stomping on his kneecap to crush it so he cant get up and go after you.

It only takes 12 pounds of pressure to crush the knee and remember the bigger the guy the easier it is to drop someone by the knees cause all his weight is distributed onto them (that's why you hear of alot of heavy people complain of knee pain) If you think stomping the kneecap is to harsh then maybe you didnt see the right video, cause that was a hard core attack on a small woman. Remember you should not be thinking of legal issues or your attackers well being when defending yoursaelf cause you will attack half assed. It like going to a gun fight with a knife, you're going to get killed cause you brought the wrong weapon.

A SELF DEFENSE SITUATION AGAINST A BIG DRUNK OFF DUTY COP

If you haven't seen the images on TV as of yet of the drunken off duty cop who attacked a bar maid then I suggust you Google it and check it out. It shows a few things that people can learn from when it comes to protecting yourself. The first is that when you are being attacked you are usually on your own when it comes to getting any help.

Keep in mind this 115 pound bar maid who was attacked by a 6'2, 215 off duty cop (real tough guy) had 2 patrons inside the pub watching the attack but did nothing to help. The 2nd factor was that even when she stopped somewhat fighting back her attacker didn't in his drunken rage, slamming her around like a rag dool.

3rd most self defense situations are brutal, sloppy and fast, nothing like what you watch in the movies. You also notice on this video footage that the attacker does not care for the well being of his victim, slamming her head violently. So it goes to show that if you walk into a self defense situation thinking of legal consequences or your attackers well being (I just want to stop him not hurt him attitude) your a goner.

So view the footage and email me on what she could of done when it came to protecting herself. Then on next weeks post I will go over the best course of action she could of took to stop this a**hole dead in his tracks.

WHAT DOES SELF DEFENSE AND POKER HAVE IN COMMON?

It's called the poker face and you need to have it when in a threatening situation. The reason why. So you dont telegraph your intent to attack. Every time someone is going to attack they telegraph there intent some how with their facial expressions. Sometimes it's tightening their jaw or making some type of facial expression. This in turn gives your opponent a heads up on what you are thinking of doing and he is able to prepare himself for battle. So how do you go about having a poker face in a self defense situation? By pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth this will help restrict the facial expressions you make while executing your attack putting the element of surprise behind you. Also by pressing your tongue on the roof of your mouth this will help prevent you from biting your tongue if your are hit in the jaw.

SELF DEFENSE FROM A HOME INVASION

Home invasions are becoming more and more popular in this day and age and criminals are getting more creative on how they are entering homes. The newest trend is by knocking on peoples doors and handing out notices stating that they are from a water company or electrical company needing to get inside your home to read a meter.

First of all real workers such as these never need to enter your home to read the meters. Second if someone does try this on you never open the door and call the water or electrical company (call the number not provided by the individual at your door but call the number in the phone book) and ask if someone from the company is scheduled to be around your home.

If the person at the door begins to put pressure on you to open the door then call the police, its a sure signal that they are actually not who they say they are. Workers from companies such as these would understand someone being cautious of letting them in, were criminals on the other hand just get frustrated with the situation.

YOUR SELF DEFENSE WHEN SELLING GOODS FACE TO FACE

When selling goods in the newspaper such as pure breed pets to regular everyday items be aware that people with bad intentions are reading your ads making sure you are their next perfect victim for robbery, sexual assault or murder. Most people when selling items tend to set up meeting times with protential buyers in the privacy of their own homes when their are alone. For people with bad intentions this is a prime time to strike because their will be no witnesses.

So if you are selling any goods make sure you meet protential buyers in a public place or if your item is to big to bring to them have a few people around the home when the meeting takes place with a self defense weapon close by incase of an emergency. You can also make a game plan ahead of time on what you would do incase of an attack. It only makes sense to use your common sense.

SELF DEFENSE TIPS FOR FOREIGN LOTTERY SCAMS

Foreign lottery scams have become a big problem in the past year for many people. I have noticed myself whenever I open up my Inbox to check my emails I find that I have "won" at least a quarter of a million dollars from some lottery in another country. I have also noticed now that it is happening over the phone where a detailed automated message is left saying that I have won a so much money. This scam causes huge identity theft problems to it's unsuspecting victims.

So how do you go about finding out if this is true or not. You can call your Better Business Bureau and get information on the lottery or business that is stating you won a prize. But the best rule of thumb is if you don't live in the country that you have won the lottery from you cannot claim the money because you are not a citizen. Bottom line listen to the old adage...if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

"SIGNATURE" SELF DEFENSE TACTIC

People who have trained with me know that my favourite self defense "signature" technique to use out on the street is the "drink throw tactic" by simply throwing my hot cup of coffee or drink into my attacker face I put the ball in my court and am able to follow through with another tactic to finish off my attacker. A variation of this technique is to actually place the liquid of the drink inside your mouth when you are threatened by pretending to take a drink. You now can spit it out onto your attackers face and follow through with whatever else you wish. Cheap low and dirty and effective. Remember there is no such thing as a dirty fighter only an educated one that gets to see another day.

INDIVDUALIZING YOUR SELF DEFENSE PROGRAM

I get many new faces coming into my self defense training centre who have had years of martial arts training behind them but want to learn something tactical that they can use on the streets. When it comes to dealing with people who have had years of martial arts training behind them they tend to have their style ingrained into their muscle memory. They move or turn with certain stances that they're style has ingrained in them. If you are one of these people and are taking up a self defense system don't try forgetting or ignoring those things that are ingrained into your muscle memory because the harder you try not to do something the more you will end up doing it. Instead incorporate the style into the new self defense system you are learning. This in turn will cut down on frustration and also is a more realistic form of training because you cannot erase years of training with a couple of months of training in a new system and expect to remember it especially when adrenaline takes over your body and your subconscious kicks in.

IS YOUR SELF DEFENSE SYSTEM STUD OR DUD?

If you want to find out if your self defense system will be effective out on the street or if you are just looking for a program or school to take a course at. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to find out if the self defense system is good or not.

1. Does the system incorporate fancy kicks or have grappling moves that focus extended periods of time on the ground?-DUD

2.Could you perform this self defense techniques while injured? if not DUD

3. Do the techniques need to be adjusted if varables change? if so DUD

4. Are the techniques simiular in movement from one another so they are easy to remember? STUD

5. Is the self defense system based on a martial arts style? DUD


Make sure you also look at the credentials of the person teaching the course. Each person should have a certificate such as a Black Belt or Instructor rank if not run the other way.

SELF DEFENSE-IT'S ALL IN YOUR ATTITUDE

I get a ton or emails asking me for advice on self defense situations, but there was one that stood out in my mind last week that I wanted to address in this blog. It was a long email so I will cut to the chase of it. The writer did not want to use extreme force or use any self defense weapon such as a stun gun to protect himself because he didn't want to injure the attacker but to only control him.

Many of my students who first walk into the doors of my training center walk in with the same "deadly" attitude and soon learn to change it because it will get them killed. Self defense is 90% mental and only 10% physical if you have an attitude that you only wish to subdue your attacker you won't be able to defend yourself out on the street because you will be in "defensive mode" instead of "offensive mode".

Your attacker does not give a crap about your well being, he will kick, spit, rape and humiliate you if he can. He does not care if you live or die, he only cares about his objective which is your cash, body or what ever his motive is. If you have an attitude of "I don't want to hurt him" then you will have the wrong mindset when defending yourself, making you have less of a fight. You owe it to your family and friends to come home safe. With an attitude less than "I am going to rip your face off for even thinking of picking on me" is like going to a gun fight with a knife, you just aren't properly prepared to handle the situation.

SELF DEFENSE FROM ATTEMPTED ABDUCTIONS

Recently in the news you heard of two children being found after being abducted one after 4 years and the other just recently. Childrens abductions are common but almost as common is abductions in adults going for both men and women. So what do you do if you find yourself in a situation such as this.

1. Fight no matter what so you are not placed inside of a car. Your situation becomes much worse if you are taken to a second location no one will hear your cries for help because usually you are brought to a very isolated area.

2. Do what you got to do when fighting your attacker off, bite, go for his eyes or hang on to a street sign pole for dear life to give you time to attract attention to the situation. Believe it or not it is very hard to get someone to release their grip when they are hanging onto something. Ever try to pull your child away from something, it's difficult isn't it?

3. If you do get placed inside a car place a hair pin or anything small into the ignition this will prevent the car from starting.

4. If you are placed in the back of the trunk their are a few things you can do. On newer models their is usually a release switch inside to open the trunk. If you are in an older model kick or punch the tail light out and stick your hand out and wave to get other cars attantion so they call for help. Or you can simply pull the wires out of the tail lights so it increases the odds of police stopping the car. When they do bang on the hood to attract attention.

5. Try to leave clues such as identification, piece's of clothing so police can get an idea of your location and dogs can pick up your scent.

SELF DEFENSE DURING CLOSE QUARTER SITUATIONS

I tell my students everytime they are in a situation that involves someone punching at kicking at them in a close quarters situation to always follow the golden rule of "staying as close as possible to your attacker". Yes I know it is much more intimidating than distancing yourself from your attacker but here is the reason why. The closer you are from a foot or hand that is hitting you the less force it has upon impact. If you allow distance to come in between you and the striking hand or foot you end up getting hit at the strongest point of the punch or kick. Which ends up doing more damage to your body.

SELF DEFENSE AGAINST STALKERS

Stalking is a growing problem for men and women all around us. Stalkers have been know to do everything from hotwiring a cellphone and GPS to cars so they can track you at anytime or have spyware that reads every email you get, to going even more extreme to killing there victims.

If you are a victim of this crime get yourself an anti stalking kit which includes a notpad to record all encounters with your stalker, mini tape recorder to record conversations and a camera so you can take photos of your stalker to show people who to look out for and to give a copy to police.

Always make a report to police and record as much information as you can in your notepad of times and dates your stalker has tried to contact you. Let your job know that you are being stalked and if anyone fitting the description of the photo you provided tries getting a hold of you or is just spotted around the work place have them call police.

If worse comes to worse and you are conforted by a stalker with a knife or gun and he or she attacks and injures you play dead. Stalkers usually don't stop stabbing or shooting someone till they know the person is dead.

USING CLOTHING AS A SELF DEFENSE WEAPON

Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year. Todays post is regarding what you can wear and use as a self defense weapon. The first is steel toe boots or just regular boots in general, this also goes for all you ladies out there wearing high heels. this type of foot wear is great for stomping your attackers foot, knee or kicking him with. A few simple kicks to the shin will stop anyone dead in there tracks, trust me I have done this one countless times. the shin kick technique is lke a Swiss Army knife. A technique which can be applied in any situation and will not fail you. The other clothing item you can use is kevlar gloves during the winter months. They will keep your hands warm yet at the same time protect you from needle pricks and help you disarm someone with a kife without getting your hands cut. Some gloves also have lead inside the knuckle area to protect your knuckles and help you get the most out of your punches.

A GREAT CRIME DETERRENT

Poe shames Texas perps - Harris County State District Judge Ted Poe punishes criminals with sentences involving shame - Brief Article
Insight on the News, Oct 19, 1998 by Julia Duin


A Lone Star State judge punishes criminals with sentences of shame -- a nineties version of the scarlet letter that has aggravated the ACLU.

It's 100 degrees at high noon in Houston, and Mike Hubacek's day of reckoning has arrived. Striding back and forth on a blistering-hot sidewalk outside the offices of the Department of Public Safety, the teenager tries to ignore a cluster of reporters and two TV cameras thrust in his face. He clutches a sign: "I killed 2 people while I was driving drunk on Westheimer."

Westheimer Road is one of the city's main thoroughfares where, in the early morning hours of Nov. 28, 1996, Hubacek was speeding with no headlights at 100 mph. He crashed into a van carrying a married couple and their nanny, scattering wreckage over hundreds of feet. The husband and nanny were killed; the wife survived with a broken collarbone and sternum, crushed thighs and wounds requiring 100 stitches.

Hubacek was instructed to carry the sign as part of the lengthy, detailed punishment ordered by Harris County State District Judge Ted Poe. "Most of us care what people think of us" Poe says. "If we're held up to public embarrassment, we don't like it. It does serve as a deterrent."

Poe, 49, is preeminent among a new breed of judge who believes in shaming, a form of justice common in colonial America that seems to be making a comeback. Poe has:
* Jailed a man convicted of domestic abuse and sentenced him to apologize publicly to his wife on the courthouse steps at noon. The audience of 450 people included newspaper and TV reporters and photographers, women from shelters and other defendants accused of wife beating.

* Sentenced a shoplifter to carry a sign for a week in front of Kmart pro claiming his theft. The store manager reported no thefts during that week. "I had seven days, eight hours a day to reflect on my life," the shoplifter told the judge. "I didn't want to continue this mode of self-destruction any more."

* Required a teenage graffiti tagger to apologize to the students at all 13 schools he vandalized. "The school officials liked that" Poe says.

The probation conditions Poe ordered for Hubacek received as much publicity as the case itself. After serving six months in jail for intoxicated manslaughter, Hubacek was ordered to attend 110 days of boot camp, erect a cross and a star of David at the scene of the wreck, maintain the crash site and carry a sign once a month for the next 10 years in front of high schools, bars and driver's-license offices proclaiming, "I killed two people while driving drunk."

The teenager also must keep photographs of the victims in his wallet for 10 years, refrain from driving for 10 years, stay inside Houston city limits, observe an autopsy of a person killed in a drunken-driving accident and send $10 every week for 10 years to a memorial fund in the names of the victims.

Every time Hubacek shows up to carry a sign, Barbara Davis, the wife of the man Hubacek killed, arrives with grim posters of the accident. Passersby cringe when they see them, but some people hug her. "God bless Ted Poe for being considered the renegade judge he is" says Davis."

But the Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, looks askance at Poe's methods. "This is the scarlet-letter syndrome" says Joseph Jacobson, director of the ACLU's Austin affiliate. "It's a form of public humiliation. It's like putting people in stocks like in the old days. The central problem is it makes it that much more difficult for someone to integrate back into normal society.

The ACLU's Houston office has taken no complaints against the judge, however. In a state that spends about $2 billion a year on its prison system, Poe's methods are popular, admits Paul Maciekowich, Houston's ACLU chapter president. "Ted Poe is just the tip of the iceberg as to what the mentality is down here" he says. "Last year, more people were imprisoned for parole violations than for first-time offenses"

Poe, who wears black cowboy boots under his robe, is part of the local color in a state in which Wild West instincts endure. While serving as a Harris County prosecutor during the trial of a man who killed a police officer, he read the jury a Christmas card that the officer might have written to his daughter. In his eight years in that job, he never lost a case.

Elected to the bench in 1981, Poe, a Republican, has run without opposition since 1986. He ranked second of 22 judges in a 1993 Houston Bar Association poll rating their effectiveness.

"If we know history, we understand why people do what they do," Poe says. "I think the public punishment is what changes the conduct. It is a public service to the community that knows we won't stand for that conduct."

The judge, whose office includes a poster of Alcatraz, a painting of a scene from the battle of Gettysburg and a sign proclaiming, "I really don't care how you did it up north," has been known to make unrepentant offenders shovel manure at the police stables in west Houston for "attitude adjustment."

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