"This is the video of Michelle's sentencing on April 15th in Elko County, Nevada. Last November a jury found her guilty of lewdness with a minor under the age of 14. That sounded pretty serious to me until I heard what she did: asking (unsuccessfully, I might add) a teenager for sex and making him touch her breast over her clothing.
Why did Michelle get such an excessive sentence? Nevada law imposes a mandatory life sentence (with parole eligibility after 10 years) for the crime of lewdness with a minor under 14. The prosecutors had discretion to charge her with any number of crimes that carried different penalties, but they chose to prosecute her under this law. The prosecutors also refused to offer Michelle a plea deal. No one knows why.
The jury who convicted her had no idea she faced life in prison and the judge who sentenced her to life had no choice in the matter.
As the video shows, the judge was not allowed to consider relevant factors at sentencing, such as whether this was her first such crime (it was) or whether medical experts who evaluated her thought she would be likely to commit another crime in the future (they concluded the opposite). All he could do was give her the sentence required by law: life behind bars (FAMM)."
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