In a remarkably low sentence, Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny sentenced Christine Beatty , the former aide to former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, to just 120 days in jail for her false testimony about their affair. She also faced the less than impressive punishment of being denied the right to attend or get credit for law school during those days.
The sentence was part of a plea agreement. It is entirely unclear when the prosecutors would agree to such a low sentence or why Kenny would accept it. Beatty not only lied on the stand but maintained that lie in public until tapes proved that she and the mayor had committed perjury. The litigation cost the city millions but Beatty will receive a few months in jail. She reportedly has $6 left to her name and towering debts, including $750,000 in legal bills.
Kilpatrick is due to be released from jail early next month.
If prosecutors continue to speculate in public why their politicians engage in such crimes, they may want to look at the punishment that they mete out.
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She should be doing some time. This is a crazy sentence for a serious crime.
The aspect that concerned me the most was that several LEOs lost their jobs—which likely destroyed their careers—because they were performing their duties to expose this scandal. The cost to taxpayers was $8.4 million.
Ms. Beatty turned down an earlier reduced sentence:
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{Quote}:
“On the day Kilpatrick pleaded guilty Beatty rejected a plea deal that included only 90 days in jail. The offer from the prosecutor went up to 150 days the day after Kilpatrick’s plea.
Now, Beatty will pay $100,000 in restitution to the city, one tenth of the $1 million restitution Kilpatrick accepted. She also agreed to stop attending law school classes during her five years of probation. Beatty has been attending law school at Wayne State University while working as Kilpatrick’s top aide.
On Monday, Beatty’s admissions ended the scandal over her efforts to hide her sexual affair with Kilpatrick and his firing of police officers to halt their probe of a long-rumored party at the Manoogian Mansion.” {End Quote}
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Quote from Professor Turley:
“If prosecutors continue to speculate in public why their politicians engage in such crimes, they may want to look at the punishment that they mete out.”
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Low sentences for public servants certainly contribute to the problem because they do not provide deterrents to white-collar crime. Perjury committed by public servants is especially violate because perjurers breach oaths of office they pledged to honor and they break the trust they owe to the citizens who are their employers.