The Petition/Brady Ann Irons

We’re handling this in the best way we know how—with no names. There is a petition being circulated online, and we’re providing a link to it. We encourage our readers to view the petition and sign if you so desire. We will be signing. Some points about the petition:

1. Don’t be surprised if the petition has no effect on the judge. We’ve begun only one such petition since we’ve been writing this blog. We asked for a maximum 20 year sentence for a man who shot dead a young husband/father. The judge gave the miscreant a total of two years to serve, even though our petition had hundreds of signatures.

2. Before you add comments on the petition or elsewhere, it’s good to do some research if you’re not familiar with the law. The defendant in this case was indicted for Manslaughter. This charge came from the grand jury, so if you have a problem with it, don’t blame the judge or district attorney. The maximum sentence when no gun is involved is 15 years with Correctional Incentive Time; in other words, the defendant would serve only five years (60 months) at best. When you ask for some ridiculous sentence, the judge may infer your lack of knowledge is a reflection on your intelligence and indicative that you probably don’t even vote. Remember—the more voters who sign the petition, the better.

3. Yes, we know the story on both parties/parents. We, and others, have received criticism from both sides of this issue since the day after the accident.

4. We are terribly disappointed in Chris Connolly. His wording quoted in the petition was abominable and totally uncalled for. The young woman he put down in the TD quote is one who falls into the category of someone actually turning her life around, as we mentioned in our blog on the sex trafficking victims. She is diligently seeking custody in this case.

Petition to Reject Plea Deal 

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Here is the deal which Brady Ann Irons signed on June 1st:

Brady Irons Plea

We’ve been asked about her restitution in other cases; we know that Irons has many cases in Lauderdale County and some in Mississippi. We’re assuming that after at least two years, she is no longer on probation in these cases; however, she is still required to pay restitution in theft cases.

Any victim still owed money by Irons, or anyone else, should call the county probation office to make sure details are properly recorded. It’s not a bad idea to call regularly to let them know you’re still waiting to be repaid for your losses.

If Irons fails to make it in rehab and is sent to prison, she will in all likelihood go to work release. In that case, you definitely need to make sure you’re on the repayment list since her income will go directly to the state before any reaches her.

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Our legal system? If you want to complain about the muddled outcomes of our legal system, think about this. In the first case mentioned today, we discussed a man shooting dead a stranger in Franklin County and getting 24 months, but an impaired man accidentally kills his own child and gets the same, or perhaps more. Still a third man in Lauderdale County shoots a man who attacked him and gets 20 years. How about a man killing his toddler daughter and getting only 12 months in Community Corrections? Rhyme or reason?

In the second case a woman with multiple felony convictions may be allowed to go free on a drug trafficking charge, while her mother with not even 1/3 the convictions of her daughter is sentenced to over eight years (some in community service) for a lesser crime. Rhyme or reason?