No one is saying it's mitigating his guilt, sport. What people are saying is that just maybe Puckett can create a sympathetic narrative in the minds of the jury panel members. More sympathy = more lenient sentence.
Really, this isn't all that complicated. This IS NOT like civilian federal criminal court where there are sentencing guidelines imposed by the legislature and delivered by the judge. Lakin will be ENTIRELY at the mercy of the jury panel - which was his choice, BTW.
What people are saying is that just maybe Puckett can create a sympathetic narrative in the minds of the jury panel members. More sympathy = more lenient sentence.
424 posted on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 8:14:06 PM by OldDeckHand;
Once again you two show your utter ignorance of the law and court procedure, and pattern jury instructions. The judge will instruct the panel that they should not be influenced by any sympathy for the defendant, or the defendant’s family in any way be affected by your decision.