Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

motion to mitigate sentence
DUI manslaughter & leaving the scene. Was given a plea of 8yrs,2yrs housearrest,&5yrs probation to follow. Accepted plea out of fear? Mother wrote letter to victims wife approx 6 wks after sentencing. She was furious, called State Attorney,who contacted our lawyer and demanded $2,000 restitution towards burial expenses immediately or she would pull the plea & we would have to start over?! It did not sound legal but again we trusted our council and paid. During this time there was a 60 day window to appeal for a motion to mitigate sentence and we were instructed not to do so because of the letter incident. Therefore my son is currently incarcerated at Jefferson C.I. and only has until the end of this year to submit an appeal. There was an 18 yr cap, he received gain time of 11 months from Operation Par and supposedly won a downward departure with Dr. Richard Carpenter as an expert witness. Our point in a motion to mitigate sentence was to possibly restructure his sentence for less prison time so he could be back at PAR for the 16-18 month program and then to sponser and guide other young (or old) adults from them to never drink & drive, to save lives with his time instead of prison. My question is was this legal & where next?

Asked on 11/10/07, 9:23 am

Valerie Masters Valerie Masters, P.A.

0 users found helpful

0 attorneys agreed

Re: motion to mitigate sentence

Sounds like he got the best deal he could possibly get. Motions to mitigate are rarely if ever granted.

Answered on 11/10/07, 1:08 pm

Edward J. Chandler Law Office of Edward J. Chandler, P.A.

0 users found helpful

0 attorneys agreed

Re: motion to mitigate sentence

You will need to timely file your motion or it will be barred.

Answered on 11/13/07, 10:44 am

Keywords

Match Any Match All

Country

State

Area of Law