7 ms·
In the US my dad had something like this happen to him. His lawyer told him the charges were misdemeanors and it'd be better to plead out, so he did. After his
by batch12 2y ago
In the US my dad had something like this happen to him. His lawyer told him the charges were misdemeanors and it'd be better to plead out, so he did. After his prison term, almost a decade later, he successfully argued this in front of his state Supreme Court and was granted post conviction relief. At that point he'd lost almost a decade of his life, but he was now able to get a real job. Long way of saying I don't trust our legal system to be fair and I pity anyone caught in its gears.
Edit: the details were fuzzy. Rereading the case, he plead nolo contendere and it was a PCR trial decision appeal. I updated those parts.
- cogman10 2y agoWhat happened? The prosecution lied to his lawyer and said they were only seeking misdemeanor charges? His lawyer lied to him? Do you by chance have a link to the decision? I'm interested in what went wrong here.
- batch12 2y agoI debated not posting this, but what the hell: https://law.justia.com/cases/south-carolina/supreme-court/2000/25181.html https://law.justia.com/cases/south-carolina/supreme-court/20...
- hattmall 2y agoThat's wild, he got 10 years with a nolo plea just for threatening a school clerk over the phone?? Yeah, terrible lawyer.
- batch12 2y agoHe always insisted he hadn't threatened her- just used choice words, but it was reported as a threat. I remember that after this, every phone call he had was recorded. Every one.
- cogman10 2y agoMan that's insane. 10 years is a bonkers sentence. Like even if this went to trial what evidence was there besides a phone record? You bet I'd push for a trial or at very least some discovery.
- matwood 2y agoWait, the lawyer said they were misdemeanors when they were really felonies? I would think even in that case the judge would be very clear someone was pleading guilty to a felony. EDIT Read your other post...wow. Even the worst attorney should be able to make sure their client understands the charges. In this case, the judge and prosecutor should have done the same. What a travesty.
- shepherdjerred 2y agoThat's absolutely insane. I know that no system is perfect, but how can someone get 10 years for a single threat over the phone?