I'm Disappointed

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  • SchwansManDan

    Sharpshooter
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    1   0   0
    Apr 29, 2015
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    Fort Wayne, or close
    I first met Fran several years ago, and I've considered her to be someone that I would not want to face on her home turf (i.e., when she's behind the bench and my name has the word "defendant" in front of it). I gotta say, I'm very disappointed to read this story. Disappointed in the plea bargain, disappointed that so many on both sides want enforcement of gun laws but that the options were dismissed in this case.

    "Charges of murder, felony murder, robbery, firearm used in the commission of a crime and criminal gang enhancement also would be dismissed at sentencing."

    Underwood brothers plead guilty to July 2015 Lillie Street homicide - News-Sentinel.com
     

    oldpink

    Grandmaster
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    0   0   0
    Apr 7, 2009
    6,660
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    Farmland
    Fifteen years for killing a man because you just couldn't bring yourself to not point a gun at him?
    Yeah, sounds reasonable.
     

    IndyDave1776

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    12   0   0
    Jan 12, 2012
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    Did I miss something? Didn't it say, "if the judge accepts it (the plea)", not that she already had?
     

    The Bubba Effect

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    19   0   0
    May 13, 2010
    6,221
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    High Rockies
    It is two lives. Any of us could end up charged with some ridiculous stuff, I'm pretty sure some of us have been. If the judge is a reasonable person, her accepting this deal (if she does) could indicate it is a reasonable thing. It could also mean that she has turned "soft on criminals" or under some external pressure. If the judge does not know stuff we do not know, we have more urgent problems than this case.

    I would personally be more inclined to trust someone that I respected before reading a news article than I would trust news outlets to accurately report the facts of a case. Look at any article written after a mass shooting. Even major news outlets get every single thing wrong they possibly can (weapon model, caliber, full/semi, AP, etc).
     
    Last edited:

    BehindBlueI's

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    29   0   0
    Oct 3, 2012
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    The judge isn't a party to a plea bargain. Their only role is to accept or reject. I'm not sure what criteria has to be met for them to reject one if there are no procedural errors and the suspect enters knowingly, willingly, etc. The only time I've seen one rejected is when the defendant played games and wouldn't make the required admission.
     

    JettaKnight

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    6   0   0
    Oct 13, 2010
    26,517
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    Fort Wayne
    True - so the prosecutor, I assume Karen Richards, would be the one orchestrating this. She's no softy either.
     

    HoughMade

    Grandmaster
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    0   0   0
    Oct 24, 2012
    35,615
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    Valparaiso
    Speculation- less than 100% faith in their witnesses. Not that the witnesses are lying, but that they are vulnerable to cross and impeachment.
     

    JTScribe

    Chicago Typewriter
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    Dec 24, 2012
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    Bartholomew County
    All prosecutors can drop dead as far as I'm concerned. They're more concerned about winning the case than actual justice. The ^#%$5^ in my county plea-bargained the junkie SOB who beat my 18-month old cousin to death down to 16 years, which basically means he'll be out in eight after they decide the jail's too crowded. :xmad:
     

    Kirk Freeman

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    8   0   0
    Mar 9, 2008
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    Lafayette, Indiana
    I first met Fran several years ago, and I've considered her to be someone that I would not want to face on her home turf (i.e., when she's behind the bench and my name has the word "defendant" in front of it). I gotta say, I'm very disappointed to read this story. Disappointed in the plea bargain, disappointed that so many on both sides want enforcement of gun laws but that the options were dismissed in this case.

    "Charges of murder, felony murder, robbery, firearm used in the commission of a crime and criminal gang enhancement also would be dismissed at sentencing."

    Underwood brothers plead guilty to July 2015 Lillie Street homicide - News-Sentinel.com

    I really don't understand what you are disappointed in. Perhaps it is unfamiliarity with the process?

    1. If you are disappointed in the plea agreement, you need to talk to the Allen County Prosecuting Attorney, not the Judge.

    2. "Yo, Freeman, man, I want my 402 conference." Unlike Illinois, the judge in Indiana plays no role in the plea negotiations. The judge may reject the plea agreement at sentencing (as being unjust one way or another, usually it is too light). However, this is an elected Superior Court judge in Allen County, Indiana, not a French Magistrate--judge/prosecutor. The judge can reject the plea, but that merely resets it on the trial calendar. The judge does not defenestrate the Prosecuting Attorney.

    3. Both sides want enforcement of gun laws? Not tracking. You are disappointed that a trifling firearm enhancement was traded away for a Level 2 felony? Let me guess, you don't play chess, do you? Dude, the big burrito is dropping it from Murder to Manslaughter, everything else is bonus. Murder is 45 to 65, Manslaughter is 10 to 30. A drop of 2 levels is an enormous win for the defense.

    4. The MacMopey Brothers got 18 years (15 executed, do 75% so do an actual 11.25 years) on a 10 to 30 with 17.5 as the dial's starting point. Youth, AoR, Lack of History, inter alia, it would be where the judge would have to come out in weighing aggs and mits anywho so what is it that you are upset about? They'll come out at 29 or maybe 27, jacked up and buff, with all kinds of new skill sets and contacts.
     

    rhino

    Grandmaster
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    24   0   0
    Mar 18, 2008
    30,906
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    Indiana
    Warning to certain INGO members....

    This doesn't mean what you think it means.


    742f807a979bc936586b8002ae7cb452.jpg
     

    JettaKnight

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    6   0   0
    Oct 13, 2010
    26,517
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    Fort Wayne
    All prosecutors can drop dead as far as I'm concerned. They're more concerned about winning the case than actual justice. The ^#%$5^ in my county plea-bargained the junkie SOB who beat my 18-month old cousin to death down to 16 years, which basically means he'll be out in eight after they decide the jail's too crowded. :xmad:

    So, isn't winning and putting a criminal behind bars justice, when the alternative is the criminal walking free?
     

    JTScribe

    Chicago Typewriter
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    10   0   0
    Dec 24, 2012
    3,738
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    Bartholomew County
    So, isn't winning and putting a criminal behind bars justice, when the alternative is the criminal walking free?

    Given that he got the plea bargain, immediately appealed the sentence, and was thoroughly thumped in the Court of Appeals . . . I'd say there's a pretty good chance that the prosecutor could have gone for the max and gotten it.

    The testimony and forensic evidence was damning enough -- he also smirked throughout the trial, something the judge noted when issuing the verdict.
     

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