Daub Marley
Member
This image shows Dan Viets (left), the DePriests' lawyer, and St. Francois County Prosecutor Jerrod Mahurin (right)
"In Missouri, if you kill someone while driving drunk, you could go to prison for -- at most -- 15 years. That's what Natalie and David DePriest are serving -- for growing marijuana.
Police found 12 mature plants and eight sprouts in their condo, and when the pair went to court, the judge issued the maximum sentence."
"Mahurin, the prosecutor, had told them that if they took their case to court, he would ask Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Pratte to hand down the maximum sentences allowed. On the other hand, If they pleaded guilty, there was good reason to think they'd be let off with a short, 120-day prison stint followed by probation. Nearly 80 percent of similar offenders in Missouri are punished that way or are simply let off with probation, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections’ Board of Probation and Parole."
"David said they would have accepted the prosecution's initial plea offer, but Mahurin had refused to allow the felony to be erased from the siblings’ records after their probation."
This bully of a prosecutor Jerrod Mahurin warns the defense to not oppose him or he will push for the maximum sentence. Every defense attorney should defend their clients in court without fear of retribution. Unfortunately that's how this screwed up system works. What should we do about it? Should and how can we offer a taste of their own medicine to the Prosecutor and Judge by punishing their poor decisions?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/...-driving-drunk-killing-someone_n_5052094.html