Devon Moore
When someone takes a plea deal it is generally for one of three reasons.... to avoid the death penalty, to get a much lighter sentence or to avoid putting the defendant's family through a trial. In today's world, as in this case, so often the defendant's family and the victim's family are one and the same. It is not unusual to see someone who is wanting to avoid the death penalty to make a plea and serve the rest of their life in prison. Nor is it unusual to see someone get a much shorter sentence than they were looking at. Sometimes this is done by lowering the charges or even changing them and allowing the court to sentence differently. This case involved a plea deal but the death penalty was never an option for prosecutors because the defendant was a minor when the crime was committed. The United States Supreme court had made this ruling in 2005, five years before the crime was committed. Whether the deal was very specific prior to entering the court is...