As someone who has practiced criminal law, I can tell you that my experience is that at sentencing time, the judges here in Virginia hate people who won't take responsibility for their actions, and really slam them. I also know that some people are more willing to cut a criminal a break based on their individual circumstances ~ a very lovely woman I know, who is a licensed clinical social worker, had jury duty, a felony theft, not a large amount, but still a felony, and was complaining that the other jurors were so judgmental and punitive. She thought perhaps the defendant had a difficult upbringing, but he did not testify. I explained that if he didn't testify, it was because he had a bad record, and the fact that the case was being tried at all meant that that he was not a first offender, or even second, as there are diversionary programs for them.
My point being that the criminal justice system, in my experience, is not willing to discount personal responsibility, not here, anyway. |
