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?