Julie Amero, the substitute teacher in Connecticut who happened to be the one teaching when her classroom's computer got stuck in a loop of porn pop-up windows and who now faces a long sentence, up to 40 years in prison (10 for each of four counts of “risk of injury to a minor or impairing the morals of a child”), for the crime of not being as swift with computers as we might have liked, in the circumstance, was due to be sentenced yesterday, after three postponements.[1] But on Tuesday afternoon, her lawyers cited new evidence and filed a motion for a new trial.
The judge considered the motion before proceeding with the sentencing, and granted it, the first sensible thing that's been done in this ridiculous circus of a “trial”. The conviction has officially been vacated, and it's now up to the prosecution to proceed with a re-trial.
This could be the last of it for Ms Amero, and for us all, because the prosecution may be using this as their opportunity to back out without actually admitting that they handled the whole thing incompetently and that there was never a cause to bring charges against the poor teacher in the first place:
Assistant State’s Attorney David Smith, who prosecuted the case, did not oppose the motion for a new trial, acknowledging “erroneous evidence,” presented to jurors. He gave no indication if the state planned to move forward with another trial.
Well, that is to say that it could be “the last of it” for Ms Amero in terms of legal troubles. She will never be able to restore her reputation and her career, and that's the real crime here. The best she can hope for is to write a book about her experience. (Though maybe she should use a typewriter....)
[1] Whoo! That was a long sentence!
2 comments:
Is it possible to get a counter lawsuit on something like this? Or would that just cause more trouble for her?
“I am not a lawyer, but” I think it's possible, and I'm sure she'll consider it. But, yeah, it might just cause more trouble than it's worth.
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