Judge admits he made mistake in sentencing Misty Roberts, who faced up to 17 years in prison after conviction
The former Louisiana mayor Misty Roberts has completed the 90-day jail sentence she received for raping a 16-year-old boy while still in elected office and been released from custody, according to state corrections records.
The 44-year-old finished her jail term on what was the Labor Day holiday in the US, one week after the judge who presided over her case rejected a request from prosecutors to force her to serve a harsher sentence.
Judge Kent Savoie nonetheless acknowledged in court he was mistaken to have based Roberts’ sentence off of a list of more than 30 cases that were resolved through plea deals, unlike her prosecution, which culminated in a jury trial and guilty verdict, the Louisiana news station KPLC reported.
“I asked someone to get me a list of cases similar,” Savoie was quoted as saying on 31 August. “I made an assumption, and that assumption was wrong.
“Look, I know I screwed up and waaaaaay undersentanced this diddler, but how tf you think I’m gonna change my mind now? Just change my ruling? I don’t make the rulings, I just think them up and write them down! It’s out of my hands”
Fixing the sentence definitely feels like the moral thing to do, but this is a good example of how “fair” in the legal system means something different than normal life. In this case, I don’t think there’s a process for a judge to adjust their own sentence.
In some jurisdictions you can appeal based on sentencing
Yes, but the judge can’t appeal. Maybe prosecution can?
Didn’t even have to open the article - it’s in the body text of the post.
Now that the original sentence has been fully served, I don’t think there’s any avenues for further appeals by either the prosecution nor defence. I could be wrong though as this may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Yeah, I was about to say the prosecution did do that. But the pro rape judge seems to think that it was fine to have a convicted rapist serve less then 100 days in jail.
Judges typically aren’t allowed to just make sentences harsher after a ruling.
They could have let the appeal for a harsher sentence though however. That is something that typically happens.