Man sentenced to live as homeless

PAINESVILLE, Ohio, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A judge in Ohio sentenced a man convicted of stealing a Salvation Army kettle to live 24 hours as a homeless person.

Painesville Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti gave Nathen Smith a choice -- serve a 90-day jail sentence, or live 24 hours as a homeless man and serve only three days in jail, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported.

"It's not that bad," Smith said, seven hours into his 24-hour stint on the streets. "But I'd hate to have to do this every day, especially in this weather. It's too cold to do it in this."

Smith has been outfitted with a global positioning system tracker to ensure he doesn't go home or stay with friends overnight. The judge also had all of the man's money and credit cards confiscated.

"He was like everyone else who finds themselves out on the street," Cicconetti said. "I didn't want him to have any money on him. I want him to learn. It's not going to hurt to be a little cold."

Weather forecasts for the city predicted the wind chill could go as low as 5 below zero overnight.