"That's such a huge number, especially for a 16-year-old girl."

Submitted by Matt on Thu, 2010-03-11 21:14

Sixteen-year-old girl pleads guilty to manslaughter. Presumably, if the perp had been male, 18 years for murder would not have been too much. Excerpt:

'Facing life in prison if her case went to trial, a 16-year-old girl admits she shot a man in the head after some sort of fight last June on Conkey Avenue.

Jessica Arnold was supposed to go on trial next week. The victim was Lamont Smith.

This morning, Arnold pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter. The reason being, her lawyer said, they didn't want to take the risk of going to trial. Arnold would have been tried as an adult on charges of murder and she could have faced up to life in prison if convicted.

On June 13, 2009, Arnold shot and killed 33-year-old Lamont Smith on Conkey Avenue during an argument. Arnold's attorney says there was a crowd, and that she fired in self-defense but prosecutors say that's not the case.

Arnold's attorney talked to News 10NBC about his client accepting 18 years in prison. Arnold's attorney Andre Vitale spoke with her family after the court appearance. Defense attorney Andre Vitale said, “That's such a huge number, especially for a 16-year-old girl. She's going to spend almost as long in state prison as she has alive. And it's really tough to resolve the case in that way but I really think that she has a chance after 15 years to get out and to really move on with her life.”'

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And it's really tough to resolve the case in that way but I really think that she has a chance after 15 years to get out and to really move on with her life

I assume the male murder victim will still be dead after her doing 15 years (I doubt it will be that long! everyone knows the drill)and then finally getting along with her life! It is all about her nothing for the murder victim who after all was just a mear male.

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Submitted by Luek on Fri, 2010-03-12 13:50