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State judge responds to mom's request for leniency after fratricide

By Douglas A. Berman

As revealed by this local sentencing article, which is headlined "Mother persuades judge to go easy on son in fatal shooting," a mother's enduring love can sometimes help at sentencing. Here are the details: Nine months ago, Ruth Nichols lost one son to gunfire and the other to a jail cell while he awaited trial in his younger brother's death. On Thursday, a judge went along with the woman's wishes and showed her surviving son leniency. Frederick County Circuit Judge G. Edward Dwyer Jr. pointed to Ruth Nichols' request as the key reason he was persuaded to go below the state sentencing guidelines of three to eight years by ordering Allen L. Nichols, 45, to serve 18 months of a 10-year sentence for manslaughter. Recommending no more than five years, Deputy State's Attorney David R...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on September 03, 2010 (boomark / email).