Former Lawrence official gets probation for bogus military document
By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff
James F. Stokes, who resigned from the Lawrence School Committee after federal agents arrested him on a charge of forging a military document, got a break today from a federal magistrate who declined to sentence him to jail but said he will forever be "mentally incarcerated for his crime."
As two Vietnam War veterans festooned with medals sat near the front of the spectators' gallery, US Magistrate Judge Joyce L. Alexander sentenced Stokes to two years of probation and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service. She also ordered him to undergo mental health counseling.
"While the court is not inclined to physically incarcerate you," she said as Stokes stood before her, "you will be mentally incarcerated for your actions for the remainder of your days."
She said Stokes, 63, had dishonored veterans across the country by claiming to have served in the US Marine Corps in the late 1960s and to have received numerous medals in Vietnam, including the Purple Heart.
"What were you thinking -- or not thinking?" she said.
As is customary in sentencings, Stokes rose to address the judge before she punished him. But Alexander, without giving an explanation, did not let the defendant speak. Stokes declined to talk to reporters as he left the courtroom.
