Deborah Kimbrough & Falacious Thinking on Plea Bargains

When a family is torn apart by a murder, many don't want to go to trial. They allow the perp to accept a plea. Unfortunately, it seems many don't understand this plea.

The family of Sonny Kimbrough is protesting the parole of his killer, his wife Deborah. We agree with them; however, they seem to think she agreed to serve 20 years. What she agreed to was a 20 year sentence. Such a sentence accrues no good time, but is eligible for parole hearings. That doesn't mean she will make parole after serving not quite seven years of her sentence. Kimbrough is currently housed in a Birmingham work release facility with a release date of December 9, 2027.

Only Life Without sentences and certain drug convictions do not allow for parole. If a victim's family is concerned about this, they might do well to continue with a trial. It's a crap shoot, but the killer just might wind up doing more time if that is what they hope for.

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We had some similar questions about Charles O'Kelley. He, along with Shaun Shapley and probably countless others in the state, agreed to a plea bargain. Both O'Kelley and Shapley received 25 year sentences for murder, and in Shapley's case an unprosecuted rape. Now both have attempted to have their pleas negated. So far the justice system has not seen fit to honor their requests. Attempting to rescind a plea bargain and attempting to secure a parole are two entirely different animals.

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We're convinced that politics bring out the worst in people. We want to commend the supporters of Rick Singleton for not bombarding us and other sites with ramblings that border on threats. Our endorsement of Rick was 100% on his merit. Our endorsement of Frank Williamson was based on choosing him as the lesser of two evils and as one who supports the Colbert Animal Shelter to the fullest.

We are still happy to publish rebuttals, but when each post becomes more libelous about the candidates and their families and even individuals not connected to the election in any way, we say enough. If you can't play nice, you can't play here.

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Shoalanda