May 12, 2008
Sentence was too lenient
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Isn’t deputy commonwealth attorney Sandy Conyers supposed to be acting on behalf of the citizens?
Her vigorous advocacy on behalf of the 17-year-old who was convicted of shooting someone seemed extreme and misplaced. In the plea agreement, she not only agreed to dismiss charges that included attempted murder, but also persuaded the court to agree to let him serve his time in juvenile detention rather than adult prison, even though he was tried as an adult.
To make matters worse, she then reportedly asked Judge Powell for leniency because the criminal “did not have the opportunity as a youth to receive social services that may have prevented the crime.”
I, like Judge Powell, would also like to know what services we as a society are obligated to provide in order to keep someone from shooting people. As long as Conyers is there to defend criminals from her position as deputy commonwealth attorney, I guess those “services” don’t include prison.
Cynthia Favret
Devon Road
James City
Sandy Conyers responded: “As deputy commonwealth’s attorney, I considered the facts of the case, the law, the concerns of the victim, and the best interest of the community before moving to have this young man tried as an adult. He is now a convicted felon, and has 10 years of Virginia State Penitentiary time hanging over his head. In lieu of sending this 16-year-old to the adult penitentiary system, I asked the court to suspend the 10 years of penitentiary time in addition to sentencing the defendant to an indeterminate period in the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, the juvenile penitentiary system, not juvenile detention, as reported. Should he violate any conditions there, he could serve the adult time. Upon his release, he will be on adult supervised probation for 10 years and subject to their rules and regulations. Should he violate those rules, he is still subject to serving the 10 years originally suspended.
I recommended a just and appropriate sentence. The defendant was a 16-year-old who had never been charged with a crime or before the court on any matter. He had not been subject to the traditional juvenile services (not social services as incorrectly reported) imposed on juveniles who have committed crimes, such as court ordered counseling, juvenile probation, or juvenile detention. I did not ask the court for “leniency.”
I feel this sentence honored my dual responsibilities to protect the community and to seek justice.
Copyright © 2008, The Virginia Gazette
