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| Two men, same crime, two sentences |
| By pinedaleroundup.com - Megan Rawlins |
| Published: 09/02/2011 |
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Sublette County District Judge Marv Tyler handed down two different sentences for ostensibly the same crime Wednesday. Robbee Williams and Justin Hoffmaster had both been charged with sexual abuse of a minor, but, while the former received five to eight years in prison, the latter was sentenced with five years supervised probation. The back-to-back hearings were an example of the gray areas within the law and the role judgment – on both sides of the bench – plays in justice, as Tyler explained his overwhelming hesitancy in approving such “light” sentences for both defendants. Sublette County Attorney Neal Stelting explained to Tyler his philosophy of giving younger offenders a “second chance.” “I generally look at youthful offenders and try to find the redeeming value and give them the opportunity to avoid felony charges,” he said. But he also said the offender has to deserve that second chance, and this is where the cases diverged. With more than 10 criminal violations within his first three years of adulthood, Stelting said Williams had already spent his “entire adult life” violating the law. While standing for sentencing in Wyoming, Stelting also noted Williams had four warrants out for his arrest in Montana and Nevada. Stelting went on to say the circumstances surrounding the crime further limited the capacity for mercy. “The grooming of the victim started over the internet when she was 14,” he said, noting it all added up to justifying a felony conviction. Given such a criminal history, Tyler said he felt Williams’ five- to eight-year sentence was “a little light considering he was looking at up to 40 years and $20,000 in fines if he had been convicted of both counts at trial.” Hoffmaster, on the other hand, had no criminal history to speak of, and both his lawyer, Leonard Kaumo, and Stelting repeatedly emphasized the high probability of rehabilitation and redemption of the defendant. “Hoffmaster has a low IQ, is easily influenced and naïve,” Kaumo said. Read More. |
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