SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - If Aimee Strauser got her way, her son’s killer would spend his life in prison.
Instead, a plea deal with the state means Wilson Hughes could be out on parole in as little as 15 years after his sentencing.
“They said it was the best way to do it,” said Strauser, who expressed disappointment with the outcome of a recent hearing at the Minnehaha County courthouse.
A crime-victim’s rights law passed by South Dakota voters in November established new rights for victims and their families, but they are still generally on the sidelines when it comes to negotiating plea agreements.
In a plea deal, a person charged with a crime agrees to plead guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence than what they might have faced if found guilty at trial. The arrangements save time and money and limit risk for everyone involved.
But they can also leave victims and family members unsatisfied.
Strauser’s son Arick was beaten to death on a Sioux Falls driveway last July in a late-night fight police say involved more than half a dozen teenagers. Hughes was charged with three counts of manslaughter.
Attorneys in Minnehaha County states Attorney Aaron McGowan’s office negotiated a plea deal for the state in which Hughes admitted to one count and a maximum 30 year sentence. Strauser said she reluctantly gave McGowan’s office her blessing.
“I gave them my input and they didn’t agree,” Strauser told the Argus Leader (https://argusne.ws/2rUZB5E ). “Basically it boils down to something is better than nothing.”
Strauser said she doesn’t blame the state’s attorney’s office but wishes the criminal justice system offered more punishment in a case like her son’s killing.
McGowan said his office invites victims to share what they would like to see as an outcome in cases, but other factors have to be weighed.
“Although we have great empathy for the victims and give credence to their wishes, we have responsibilities beyond the goals of our victims,” McGowan said.
He said his office works closely with victims and families to explain the process, including what outcomes are reasonable to expect under the law, the obstacles prosecuting a case could present and the likelihood of winning at trial.
The state’s attorney and defense attorney will negotiate deals based on a defendant’s age and chances of rehabilitation, the limits of the law and strength of their cases.
Minnehaha County Public Defender Traci Smith said the facts and circumstance of every case are different. Victims should make their wishes known and stay informed of the law and evidentiary circumstances that might lead to certain plea deals.
It is important to prevent victims from developing unrealistic expectations, she said.
“Victims have an absolute right to have their voices heard and their wishes considered, but the law does not give them a right to veto a prosecution or demand a certain result,” Smith said.
The criminal justice system does have a built-in protection to make sure plea agreements are fair and take the impact of the victim into consideration: judges.
Second judicial circuit court administrator Karl Thoennes said judges can approve or reject a plea agreement. The latter doesn’t occur very frequently, he said.
Thoennes said a judge will review information about a case and the impact it had on victims through a pre-sentence report prepared by prosecutors and victim’s witness assistants.
“Judges do frequently get input from families in various way,” Thoennes said.
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Information from: Argus Leader, https://www.argusleader.com
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