Father acquitted in paddling of son

News from Ohio:

NEWARK -- Jason Klein and the Rev. Russ Hylton are calling for less government intervention when it comes to disciplining children.

Discipline should be left up to parents, they say.

A jury in Licking County Municipal Court found Klein innocent of a domestic violence charge on May 9. The first-degree misdemeanor charge followed an incident on Nov. 21, when Klein spanked his son, Storm Klein, then 13, with a wooden paddle.

Jason Klein, 36, of Newark, said he spanked his son because he found out he was drinking alcohol. He claims the spanking was a disciplinary measure, and government shouldn't be allowed to tell parents how to raise their children.

"I don't think they should have the right at all," the father of six said. "I think it oversteps the boundary of government." ...

Hylton, a pastor at Crossroads Worship Centre in Newark, where the Klein family attends, believes in spanking as a form of punishment. It helps mold a child into a productive citizen, he said.

He referenced disciplining to the idea in the Bible: "Spare the rod, spoil the child." ...

Storm, a student at Licking Valley Middle School, said he doesn't believe the spanking case should have gone this far.

"I got punished and felt I deserved it," he said.

This is a good example of the need for jury trials. The average person understands child-rearing better than the judges, prosecutors, psychologists, and social service agencies.