Prosecution: Kane Deserves Prison for 'Egregious' Crimes
"...the sentencing brief filed Monday by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, which said Kane should face prison time for orchestrating the leak of confidential investigative information, then lying before a grand jury investigating the leak. According to the brief, Kane faces a maximum prison sentence of 12 to 24 years."
Lizzy McLellan, The Legal Intelligencer
October 17, 2016 |
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane departs after her preliminary hearing Nov. 10, 2015, at the Montgomery County courthouse in Norristown.
AP photo by Matt Rourke
Prosecutors have requested consecutive prison sentences for Kathleen Kane, after the former Pennsylvania attorney general was convicted of perjury, official oppression and related crimes in August. Kane, meanwhile, has asked to be placed on probation, having been sufficiently "humbled and embarrassed" by her convictions.
In a sentencing memo filed Tuesday morning, Kane's attorney said she has lived a life "dedicated to merciful acts," and asked Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy for "mercy in return." The memo touted Kane's "courageous" decision not to defend Pennsylvania's statute barring same-sex marriage, her creation of a mobile street crimes unit to address the heroin epidemic and her expansion of the Office of Attorney General's child predator section, suggesting the good she did in public service should outweigh her crimes.
The memo stood in stark contrast to the sentencing brief filed Monday by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, which said Kane should face prison time for orchestrating the leak of confidential investigative information, then lying before a grand jury investigating the leak. According to the brief, Kane faces a maximum prison sentence of 12 to 24 years.
"The commonwealth does not make this request lightly," the prosecutors' brief said. "The facts of this case are particularly egregious, and the impact that these crimes have had on the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Office of Attorney General, the law enforcement community and on [former Philadelphia NAACP head] J. Whyatt Mondesire and his family is substantial, widespread and ongoing."
Kane was convicted of two counts of perjury, a felony with a maximum sentence of three-and-a-half to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine per count. She was also found guilty of seven misdemeanor counts, each with a maximum sentence of one to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
The prosecutors said a probationary sentence would be "entirely inappropriate." They noted that Kane was "well aware" of the restrictions on investigative information under the Criminal History Record Information Act and the Grand Jury Act. The brief also detailed the effects of her actions while in office.
"During her tenure as attorney general, Kane behaved in a paranoid manner and repeatedly misused her official authority to advance her personal vendettas," the prosecutors said. "Kane's crimes and her behavior in office not only destroyed morale within the OAG, it diminished the reputation of the entire OAG and law enforcement generally."
The District Attorney's Office also argued that Kane showed a lack of remorse over her actions. In her memo, Kane said she feels "deep regret" that she violated the trust of Pennsylvania's citizens. She argued that her "tremendous fall from grace" has brought her so low that traditional incarceration is not needed to aid her rehabilitation.
Kane's memo included 29 letters from family, friends and members of law enforcement, including one from a doctor indicating Kane is at risk for developing cervical cancer and requires occasional medical evaluations.
In lieu of probation, Kane asked to be sentenced to house arrest. On Monday, Demchick-Alloy filed an order directing the Montgomery County Adult Parole and Probation Department to complete a house-arrest suitability assessment before Kane's sentencing.
Kane filed a motion last week asking for the assessment, arguing that she is a nonviolent offender with a low recidivism risk. She also said she is the primary caregiver to her two minor children, though her prosecutors argued that should not be a factor because she shares custody evenly with the children's father.
The District Attorney's Office argued in response that house arrest is seldom used, and is usually reserved for defendants who have "debilitating medical conditions" or who care for someone with such a condition. It is only meant to be available to defendants who would otherwise receive county jail sentences, rather than state prison sentences, the prosecutors said.
Neither a spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office nor Kane's attorney, Marc Steinberg of Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg & Gifford, returned requests for comment.
Ben Seal contributed to this report.
"...the sentencing brief filed Monday by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, which said Kane should face prison time for orchestrating the leak of confidential investigative information, then lying before a grand jury investigating the leak. According to the brief, Kane faces a maximum prison sentence of 12 to 24 years."
Lizzy McLellan, The Legal Intelligencer
October 17, 2016 |
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane departs after her preliminary hearing Nov. 10, 2015, at the Montgomery County courthouse in Norristown.
AP photo by Matt Rourke
Prosecutors have requested consecutive prison sentences for Kathleen Kane, after the former Pennsylvania attorney general was convicted of perjury, official oppression and related crimes in August. Kane, meanwhile, has asked to be placed on probation, having been sufficiently "humbled and embarrassed" by her convictions.
In a sentencing memo filed Tuesday morning, Kane's attorney said she has lived a life "dedicated to merciful acts," and asked Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy for "mercy in return." The memo touted Kane's "courageous" decision not to defend Pennsylvania's statute barring same-sex marriage, her creation of a mobile street crimes unit to address the heroin epidemic and her expansion of the Office of Attorney General's child predator section, suggesting the good she did in public service should outweigh her crimes.
The memo stood in stark contrast to the sentencing brief filed Monday by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, which said Kane should face prison time for orchestrating the leak of confidential investigative information, then lying before a grand jury investigating the leak. According to the brief, Kane faces a maximum prison sentence of 12 to 24 years.
"The commonwealth does not make this request lightly," the prosecutors' brief said. "The facts of this case are particularly egregious, and the impact that these crimes have had on the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Office of Attorney General, the law enforcement community and on [former Philadelphia NAACP head] J. Whyatt Mondesire and his family is substantial, widespread and ongoing."
Kane was convicted of two counts of perjury, a felony with a maximum sentence of three-and-a-half to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine per count. She was also found guilty of seven misdemeanor counts, each with a maximum sentence of one to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
The prosecutors said a probationary sentence would be "entirely inappropriate." They noted that Kane was "well aware" of the restrictions on investigative information under the Criminal History Record Information Act and the Grand Jury Act. The brief also detailed the effects of her actions while in office.
"During her tenure as attorney general, Kane behaved in a paranoid manner and repeatedly misused her official authority to advance her personal vendettas," the prosecutors said. "Kane's crimes and her behavior in office not only destroyed morale within the OAG, it diminished the reputation of the entire OAG and law enforcement generally."
The District Attorney's Office also argued that Kane showed a lack of remorse over her actions. In her memo, Kane said she feels "deep regret" that she violated the trust of Pennsylvania's citizens. She argued that her "tremendous fall from grace" has brought her so low that traditional incarceration is not needed to aid her rehabilitation.
Kane's memo included 29 letters from family, friends and members of law enforcement, including one from a doctor indicating Kane is at risk for developing cervical cancer and requires occasional medical evaluations.
In lieu of probation, Kane asked to be sentenced to house arrest. On Monday, Demchick-Alloy filed an order directing the Montgomery County Adult Parole and Probation Department to complete a house-arrest suitability assessment before Kane's sentencing.
Kane filed a motion last week asking for the assessment, arguing that she is a nonviolent offender with a low recidivism risk. She also said she is the primary caregiver to her two minor children, though her prosecutors argued that should not be a factor because she shares custody evenly with the children's father.
The District Attorney's Office argued in response that house arrest is seldom used, and is usually reserved for defendants who have "debilitating medical conditions" or who care for someone with such a condition. It is only meant to be available to defendants who would otherwise receive county jail sentences, rather than state prison sentences, the prosecutors said.
Neither a spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office nor Kane's attorney, Marc Steinberg of Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg & Gifford, returned requests for comment.
Ben Seal contributed to this report.
