Quote:
"Why only 5 years. . . "
Because the prosecutor that offered the plea bargain is a coward and too inept to take the case to trial before a jury and was looking for an easy way out, so he could go back to his life of leaving work by 430pm everyday and going to the golf course. Only 5 years, because the prosecutor is a lazy, pathetic fraud that does not want to do his job and take the case to trial before a jury and actually get a conviction in a court with a judge handing down a sentence.
|
Here we have a lot of generalizations being made about the system by someone who knows very little about it.
It is true that as in any field, you will find a handful of incompetent people sitting out their retirement.
What this poster fails to understand is that a prosecutor who is doing his job has to weigh different factors. There is a psychiatric condition where women go into denial about being pregnant. I've talked to a physician or two about this over the years. Sometimes they will present to a doctor complaining about "weight gain" or complaining that they don't understand why they get sick in the morning. This "denial" is a severe form of depression. When a physician knows about it, he/she should be in a position where they can contact child protective services.
Knowing what I know about pregnancy (which is not firsthand experience) I don't believe a rational woman would elect to have her baby at home on the the toilet when options exist like giving birth to the child in a hospital and abandoning it to the authorities for adoption. When something like this happens the words "mental illness" and "severe depression" ought to jump out at you.
If a prosecutor took a case like this to trial, he would be unable to prove that premeditated murder occurred. So, you can scratch that off the list as a possible offense the woman could be convicted for. He could make a case for second degree murder. However, the woman's attorney would bring psychiatrists to court who very likely would testify that she was extremely depressed and suffering from severe mental illness and they would likely testify that in that condition she was incapable of forming the "intent to kill or inflict severe bodily injury". This intent is a prerequisite for a conviction of second degree murder. So, these facts would make a conviction for second degree murder difficult.
This basically takes this case down to manslaughter. The sentence for voluntary manslaughter is about five years imprisonment in many jurisdictions. It is where I live. It would be an indeterminate sentence of 0 to 5 years in the state in which I live.
Realistically, this "plea bargain" as it is called probably accomplished what a jury trial would have in this case.
Many people here (and elsewhere) are quick to attack the criminal justice system and those who participate in it. It would nice if they would arm themselves with the facts and the law before doing so for a change.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
