Despite the Marion County State Attorney’s Office offering forty years Florida State Prison and the defendant’s Florida Felony Score Sheet permitting a lower sentence of eleven years, a Circuit Judge in Ocala sentenced a man to life imprisonment this past week.
Under the advice of the assigned Public Defender to his case, the defendant who was charged with burglary, sexual battery and theft chose to “plea open” to the court with no specific resolution agreed to– apparently hoping for a lenient sentence from the court. Often times the court will look to the Florida Felony Score Sheet for guidance in this type of situation. Prosecutors use the formula in score sheets to determine whether a person’s charge and criminal history requires the court to impose prison time, the amount of prison time or to determine if jail or probation is allowed by law. But as this man and his Public Defender found, the score sheet was merely the start of the process. Although the score sheet in this case permitted a prison sentence of eleven years, it also permitted life. The judge chose to sentence life in prison.
If you or a loved one is charged with a sex crime or facing severe sentencing due to their Florida Felony Score Sheet score- contact Ocala Criminal Defense Lawyer Whittel & Melton, LLC immediately at 352-726-0078.