My son's experience as to charges and defense has been unique. He was accused by a couple of men who had grudges against him (over money and business), and an overzealous prosecutor ramped up the charges to 20 felonies. My son had never been arrested, never been in a fight, and never taken drugs or abused alcohol. He had been an attorney, but was no longer practicing after his sloppy accounting practices got him in trouble with the Bar. He had been a successful member of the legal establishment, and he thought he could call in a favor or two and be out on bail within hours. Bail was set very high because of the amount of money he was alleged to have misappropriated, and a hold was put on the bail that prevented my son from ever using his own funds to pay the premium. In short, he was incarcerated for what would be three-and-a-half months before my husband and I were able to max out all of our credit to finally pay the premium. Even then, it took help from a bail bond executive my son had known.
Because I don't live in the same state, my son had difficulty finding a place to stay and a way to get around. He found temporary employment at a warehouse and tried to call in some money that was owed to him, but nothing worked so that he could hire an attorney. The public defender had been pessimistic, unenthusiastic about building a real defense, and single-minded about taking a plea deal (about 5 years in state prison). Friends came up with enough to get him through a couple of hearings with a private attorney, but then there was no money. Having been a successful attorney, he made the decision to represent himself. We continued to pay for his living expenses and the cost of copying, subpoenas, pleadings, etc.
My son literally had PTSD from being locked up, from his ex-wife refusing to bring the children to see him, and from the way the system he had been a part of was now working against him. He went months without sleeping, suffered from anxiety and depression, and developed an ulcer. After his release on bail, and especially after deciding to represent himself, he began to get stronger. He prepared his case zealously. Once he stood before the judge for pre-trial motions, he felt confident again. But the judge rubber-stamped every motion of the prosecution and denied every motion from my son. My son said, "A jury will be reasonable."
My son was both defense attorney and defendant. He felt really good about the job he did. I think that in his mind and in his arguments, he minimized the things he had done and maximized the wrongs of others. That's probably normal, but a little different when acting as his own attorney, and it didn't work out well.He was convicted of 13 felony counts and is in jail (adding to time served) while awaiting sentencing. He could get anything from probation and time served to four years (which is about two actual). He is in a better place mentally and spiritually than he was when he was first incarcerated, but he has a long way to go to get his life back. I've been told that for mothers, there are several milestones along the way, and sentencing has to be one of the hardest, although the guilty verdicts were like 13 punches in the stomach.
I am very grateful for M.I.S.S. and hope I can find some way to be of service here. Thank you and God bless you for this opportunity to share our pain and our hope.
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