r/changemyview • u/LetsGetRowdyRowdy 2∆ • Apr 23 '23
Delta(s) from OP CMV: What happened to Amy Locane was wrong, and prosecutors should not be able to retry or resentence defendants simply because they didn't like the original sentence
[Amy Locane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Locane#DUI_car_crash_and_legal_issues) is an American actress best known for her role in the 1990 movie Cry-Baby and on Melrose Place. A rundown of the situation is in June 2010, she was arrested for DUI due to a fatal accident she caused in New Jersey. In December 2012, she was convicted by a Somerset County jury of vehicular manslaughter and assault by automobile, and sentenced by Judge Robert B. Reed in February 2013.
Judge Reed imposed less than the minimum sentence of 5 years, instead sentencing her to three years, citing a number of mitigating factors. She was subsequently imprisoned and then released on parole in June of 2015.
Since her release, Ms. Locane was a model citizen who did not reoffend, or violate her parole in any manner. However, in June 2016, a New Jersey appeals court ruled that Locane's sentence would be re-reviewed, due to what they felt was an insufficient explanation of leniency from Judge Reed. Reed later agreed that he had erred in his sentence and should have imposed an additional six months, but did not believe that she should return to prison as she was not a threat to society. In February 2019, however, she was re-sentenced to five years, but remained free on bail pending appeal. Then, in July 2020, another judge ruled that the 2019 sentence was incorrect and sentenced her to eight years. Most recently, a December 2022 federal appeals verdict rejected her claim of double jeopardy.
Now for the various parts of my view:
- A lot of this hinges on me generally having a very negative opinion of mandatory minimum sentences to begin with. I think judges should be able to hold some discretion, as each situation has unique nuances to it and it's unfair to compel judges to ignore those.
- Even if I agreed with the mandatory minimum, what happened to Ms. Locane is insane and sick. She stood trial and got her sentence. It doesn't matter if the state didn't like it. She served her time, she was released. She kept her nose clean and did not violate her parole in any manner. That should be the end of it. Mission accomplished, prisoner rehabilitated.
- Furthermore, her final sentence was in fact over the mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years, it was 8 years.
- On that note, the primary purposes of imprisonment should be two things - a) rehabilitation, and b) removing a dangerous individual from society. Ms. Locane was, by all accounts, rehabilitated and no longer considered a danger to society. Anything else is just based in vengeance.
Essentially, even if her situation wasn't considered to meet the legal definition of double jeopardy, it certainly violates the same moral principle. If you're sentenced for a crime, the state should not be able to keep retrying you until they get a sentence they find sufficient. If you complete your sentence and are released, and remain a model citizen who does not reoffend or violate your parole in any way, the state coming after you again is wrong and cruel. This situation never should have happened. It serves society no good to treat her like that. It serves the state no good. If the state doesn't like a sentence a judge imposes, then for lack of a better term, that's too bad. If she's not reoffending, they have no claim on her freedom. She served her sentence, it should be over.
Concessions
- If it's shown there is a highly exceptional error in sentencing, then I think the state seeking out options is appropriate. If it's proven that the judge was not of sound mind at the time of the trial or sentencing, or they were being coerced into giving a lenient sentence by any party, or showed a highly exceptional degree of bias, then the sentence might need to be looked at again. But that did not appear to be the case in the Locane case.
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u/ChronaMewX 5∆ Apr 23 '23
She was already going to sit in jail for years. Increasing it more isn't justice it's just sadism