Results tagged “sentencing”

The tortured case of the beating death of gay Maryland man Tony Hunter has at last drawn to a close, as D.C. Superior Court Judge Rafael Diaz sentenced defendant Robert Hannah, 19, to 180 days in jail on Wednesday, the Washington Blade reports. The sentence represents the maximum jail time allowable for Hannah's conviction on a misdemeanor assault charge. Hannah will also get credit for time served, the Blade says, which is about two months already. Hunter's mother told the paper she was "not pleased" with the outcome. There has been much public outcry on the reduced charges to which Hannah eventually was allowed to plead guilty, but ultimately a grand jury did not find sufficient evidence to pursue a manslaughter charge. Friends of the victim have maintained that Hunter was beaten in an unprovoked attack that may have been an anti-gay incident.

The Associated Press is reporting that convicted D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad has been given an execution date: Prince William County Circuit Judge Mary Grace O'Brien ordered the execution will take place November 10, a Tuesday, so that "courts would be open the day before in case they have to take up last-minute appeals." Muhammad attorney told reporters that his client will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and ask Gov. Tim Kaine for clemency. Muhammad was sentence to death for the killing of Dean Meyers, one of ten people who were shot dead by the sniper in the Washington metro area during a three-week period in October, 2002. Lee Boyd Malvo, his accomplice, was sentenced to life in prison.

There's nothing classy about driving drunk, perhaps especially when you're the Chief of Police. But former Alexandria Police Chief David Baker has at least managed to handle the aftermath of his recent DUI arrest with a healthy amount of respect for the law. After retiring from his position almost immediately following his arrest, Baker today pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, and will serve five days in jail. Baker will also lose his driver's license for a year, pay a $300 fine and attend the county's Alcohol Safety Action Program for DUI offenders. From the statement Baker released after his court hearing, via the Post: "I offer no excuses for my bad decisions and behavior because there are none. And I am, and will be, forever haunted by the personal embarrassment and humiliation I caused to those who have supported, mentored and guided me through my personal life and long and rewarding public safety career."

So the Associated Press says that former D.C.-based FOX News producer Aaron Bruns got sentenced to 10 years in prison today for possession of child pornography, while just a few days before, former NPR science editor David Malakoff basically walked on the same charge, getting only five years probation. What was the difference between these two men? Bruns had a prior kiddie porn conviction from about ten years ago, when he was a college student in Michigan, while Malakoff had no previous record. Malakoff also testified that he had watched the videos in order to relive his own rape, which he said he experienced when he was 9 years-old, and the judge in his case obviously believed his story. Still, that's a pretty big disparity as far as sentencing goes. Without U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle's intervention, Malakoff would have been given six to eight years based on federal guidelines.

Harriette Walters, the ringleader behind a massive, two-decade-long, $50 million embezzlement scheme run from the inside of the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue, has been sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison today.

The Post takes a look at some court papers filed by the attorney for Office of Tax and Revenue embezzler Harriette Walters, and finds that her legal team is arguing for leniency during sentencing by playing the "she had a rough childhood" card. The lawyer wrote that Walters stole the money so that she could give some of it away, which made her feel better about herself.

Tabackman attributed her father's "central role as the family's gift giver" as the "source of her documented practice of giving away extraordinary sums."

Continue reading "Harriette Walters' Lawyer: She Had Self-Esteem Issues"