Florida woman who coughed on cancer patient gets 30 days in jail

[demmiblue]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Florida woman whose image went viral when she coughed on a customer at a Pier 1 store last year in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic has been sentenced to 30 days in jail.

A judge in Jacksonville on Thursday also ordered Debra Hunter to pay a $500 fine, serve six months probation and participate in a mental health evaluation along with anger management, David Chapman, communications director for the state attorney's office in Jacksonville, said in an email. She was also ordered to cover the costs of the victim's Covid-19 test.

Hunter received credit for one day already served in jail. She was arrested last June after she was recorded deliberately coughing on the other customer during an argument with employees inside the store. According to investigators, the victim, Heather Sprague, had begun recording Hunter's heated encounter with the employees. Hunter saw her and made a rude gesture before walking up and saying she would cough on her. And then she coughed on her, an arrest affidavit said.

Sprague, who is being treated for a brain tumor, told the judge she spent days anxiously searching for a place where she and her family could be tested for the coronavirus. The tests ended up being negative, she said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-woman-who-coughed-cancer-patient-gets-30-days-jail-n1263627

[malaise]

1. Good

Let others see

[crickets]

6. +1

[usaf-vet]

16. Not quite good enough. Add a zero to the end of both 30 and $500 that will change a attitude.

Coughing into the face of a cancer patient. What a stupid arrogant bi**h!

[malaise]

19. indeed

[mountain grammy]

22. Yes, I'd be fine with that.

[catbyte]

2. I'm so glad she got jail time for that. Her lame ass "apology" and excuses for her vile behavior

were really off-putting. A fine example for her children.

[spooky3]

3. In the last few paragraphs, the judge is quoted

As remarking on how Hunter’s comments were all about how this mess affected HER and her family—not about how the victim was harmed.

She’s lucky she didn’t get a worse sentence.

[Johnny2X2X]

7. Agree

Just all about her and her family, not about what she did to the victim and her family. This is today's Republican Party in a nut shell, nothing else matters but them and theirs.

Not sure what options there were, but 60 days would have been better. I would have been fine with 90 or 120 days too. 30 days is not nothing though, she'll serve 25 with good behavior. Going to be a rough 25 days for her. And it sounds like probation and the other aspects of her punishment will be something else for her to overcome too.

You think of the perp's children, their mom did something like this and then doesn't even have the common decency to say she's sorry or show concern for the cancer patient she put in harm's way. Good example for them, just a disgusting human being.

[wnylib]

23. Hmm. She might be exposed to covid herself

during her jail stint.

[malaise]

9. MeMeMeMeMe

It's always about them - consequences be damned.

[spooky3]

10. I thought you were about to break into a song there!

[malaise]

11. Hehehehehhe

[3Hotdogs]

30. MeMeMeMe, all together,

R O N Z O N I is how you spell Ronzoni,
'America's best spaghetti and the finest macaroni.

[lpbk2713]

4. Even now she probably sees herself as the victim.

People who see themselves as entitled are like that.

[dalton99a]

5. "BUT my family suffered so much"

Hunter’s husband told the judge they had faced numerous hardships leading up to the incident, including losing everything they had in a house fire, FirstCoast News reported.

“It was like air being inflated into a balloon, and it finally got to the point where she couldn’t handle any more air,” Hunter’s husband said in court. “And then she finally rubbed up against something and just popped."

Hunter told the judge her family has paid the price for her mistakes, adding that her children continue to lose friends, and that they don’t go out in their community anymore.

“I watch as my kids lower their heads and turn the opposite direction, so they won’t be recognized or approached,” she told the judge. “And I know exactly what they’re feeling because I do the same thing.“

Stupid piece of shit

[NurseJackie]

13. Indeed!

"Me-me-me-me-me! "

Ugh.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Husband Fails To Express...

...any reason for me to care about their plight. Breaking the law on camera is an obviously idiotic thing to do.
Ok, maybe the kids don't deserve it, but with a mom like that, I have concerns about their attitudes as well.

[ShazzieB]

29. I feel for her kids.

But any hardship this causes for them is something was brought about by HER when she made the choice to behave in such a vile and despicable manner. It's a damned shame that they have to suffer for something they had nothing to do with, but she has no one to blame but her own racist, hate spewing self.

[karynnj]

36. On the other hand, this could be a valuable lesson that even adults can not act like bullies

With no penalty, unfortunately, the mom's behavior might be taken as the model for the kids. At minimum, acceptance of that behavior would normalize truly despicable behavior. I hope elements of the community with existing links to the kids - schools, neighbors, girl scout/boy scout troops, or religious communities will reach out to the kids and help them through the time when their mom is in jail.

In addition, it would seem the kids might need counseling to explain that they did not cause this, that people need to behave better and that people (their mom included) can be both good and bad.

[Raftergirl]

8. Play stupid games

win stupid prizes.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

12. This asshole needs to be punished

[GoodRaisin]

14. Oh my. They "can't go to their country club anymore".

Hope they took her straight to her new club for the remainder of her 29 days. Sounds like another selfish Trumphumper.

[keithbvadu2]

34. Surely Trump's Maralago will welcome them (and their dues) with open arms.

Surely Trump's Maralago will welcome them (and their dues) with open arms.

[Richard D]

15. Googling . . .

Florida woman, Florida man, Florida politician . . . instant weirdness.

[OverBurn]

18. She is the definition of the C word.

[Grammy23]

20. In addition to her sentence of jail time,

Fine and probation, she now has a record to follow her all the days of her life.

So there’s that, too.

If you are in a situation where you feel as if you are about to lose your sh*t, how about walking away, counting to 10 and leaving? Does every incident, insult or confrontation have to end with a physical assault? Good grief. Whatever happened to just common decency, civility??

[Demovictory9]

24. 👍 well said

[Evolve Dammit]

21. Thirty days? I don't think that will make much of a difference. 6 months, yeah. Time to think. nt

[karynnj]

37. Depends - she sounds like an entitled person who never would have thought she could go to jail

Even 30 days means SHE WENT TO JAIL. Not to mention, there is what she went to jail for - a despicable action. Not to mention, this story went viral nationally. I suspect that years from now - she will see her life, her image of herself, her family's view of her, her community's view of her will be seen to have changed at that point.

Consider that she is going to jail for actions that no one will think redeeming. This is not someone who was arrested because of heart felt protests where she stood up against power for their values who go to jail. Her life will now be defined by what might have been her worst action.

[blue sky at night]

25. My Brother is a Candidate for...

the Mental Health Evaluation and Anger Management Course...he went off the deep end about 6 weeks ago telling me off (he owned the libtard) and letting me know the real truth about things...haven't spoken to him since. Glad we were on the phone as I was worried it would come to fists if we had been together. This woman really upset me when she did this so I too am glad she got that sentence!

[Patterson]

26. It sounds like she got probation and not jail time.

[irisblue]

33. Before ordering jail time, Duval County Court Judge James Ruth said...

Before ordering jail time, Duval County Court Judge James Ruth said she was struck by the fact that Hunter’s testimony focused less on how she may have harmed the victim and more on how her actions affected her own family.

“Her children didn’t create this problem and her husband didn’t, and she talked about how it changed her world and she was getting nastygrams on Facebook and things of that nature and they can’t go to their country club or wherever,” Ruth said. “But I have yet to see any expression, or a significant expression on her regret about the impact it had on the victim in this case!”


I feel for the kid, momma is an asshole

[LetMyPeopleVote]

27. He He He

Link to tweet

[twodogsbarking]

28. Any phrase that starts with

Florida woman or Florida man is likely to be disgusting. I think y'all get it.

[Silver Gaia]

31. Yes! I wish this could have happened to the woman who coughed on me last summer!

I'm not a cancer patient, but my husband is, which I told her when I asked her to please pull her bandana back up over her face so I could safely pass her in the store. She called me a "fucking bitch" and coughed in my face. I'm sure there are a lot of us out there with similar stories.

[C Moon]

42. Or the runner who coughed at me at the park

And said, “take off your mask” and laughed.

[Silver Gaia]

43. I really don't get why they think this is acceptable behavior.

Except for Trump making it seem so...

[C Moon]

44. Yes. It's very disturbing.

[area51]

32. I wish they'd jail her until the pandemic is over.

[keithbvadu2]

35. Spitting on grocery store produce .

Spitting on grocery store produce .

He got b_tch-slapped.

He deserved it.

[IzzaNuDay]

38. Well boo ***ing hoo!

This dolt apparently didn't think she deserved consequences. Consequences must hurt! I listened to parts of this dolt's sorrowful testimony. I'll try to find sympathy for her in the dictionary between shucks and too bad!

Not wearing a mask, getting up in another person's face, and then coughing on them. What in the bloody heck did she think would happen?

But the clincher -- this dolt was whining about her children can't make or keep friends.
Well DUH, there IS a pandemic! Her family being shunned is actually a blessing in disguise! Stay home and isolate until this is over!

She was lucky to leave that store unscathed. Had she coughed on wrong person, she might have ended up like Leroy Brown (as sung by Jim Croce) -- "like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone!"

[halfulglas]

41. Actually, yes, she thought her story about the consequences to HER family was enough to get her off.

People who belong to country clubs and live well are used to the judge or state's attorney saying, "Well, now you know your actions affect other people. I know you've learned a big lesson, etc." And they get off with a warning and no jail and no record. This pandemic has bared so many things in our sick society. It's good to see some people paying a price.

[machoneman]

39. WTF is wrong with these MAGATS?

[BobTheSubgenius]

40. To the victim and her family, it must have been an awful wait.

That horrid woman could have had COVID, and even the "cougher" probably couldn't say with certainty that she didn't. How is what she did not assault. I think 30 days is awfully minimal, especially given her self-centered POV after the incident, and even in court.