The article raises only one question in my mind: Did the prosecutor agree to a deal whereby the defendant would not be incarcerated for more than 90 days? If so, the prosecutor is also deserving of criticism.
That's what I thought, too. If true, the prosecutor should be fired, as well.
From the article:
After a sound bite of Deputy States Attorney Nicole Andreson advocating an 8- to 20-year sentence for Hulett because “punishment is a valid purpose,”
***The article raises only one question in my mind: Did the prosecutor agree to a deal whereby the defendant would not be incarcerated for more than 90 days? If so, the prosecutor is also deserving of criticism.***
You have absolutely raised the same question that I have. I saw nothing in the article that said whether the judge had any choice about the term of the sentence.
And I DO understand that a longer MANDATORY sentence sometimes makes it impossible for the DA to get a confession in trade for a shorter sentence. That tells me one of two things: Either the DA did not have enough proof to insure a conviction, thus he got a confession. Or, the DA's office is understaffed or incompetent.
yup