Dumb Attorney -- My Client is too pretty to go to jail....

[wakeme2008]

http://www.tampatrib.com/MGB5913MBBE.html

Jul 19, 2005
Lafave Breaks Off Plea Talks
By THOMAS W. [e-mail]


TAMPA - Former Greco Middle School teacher Debra Lafave, accused of having sex with a 14-year-old student, turned down a plea deal on Monday that would have included hard time in prison.

She wants a jury trial.

..cut..

``To place Debbie into a Florida state women's penitentiary, to place an attractive young woman in that kind of hellhole, is like putting a piece of raw meat in with the lions,'' Fitzgibbons said.

..more at link..

Editorial from Tampa Tribune

Not Too Pretty For The Big House

http://www.tampatrib.com/News/MGBWK4ZEBBE.html


Published: Jul 19, 2005

According to her attorney, disgraced Greco Middle School teacher Debra Lafave is too pretty to send to the pokey. She rejected a plea bargain Monday because it involved too much prison time.

It is one thing to argue that Lafave is mentally unstable or that she would be a first-time offender if convicted of seducing a 14-year-old student. But defense attorney John Fitzgibbons said that sending the divine Deb to prison would be the same as throwing ``raw meat'' to the lions.

The truth is that prison isn't just for ugly girls. Lady Justice wears a blindfold, after all.

..little more at link..

[NewJeffCT]

1. she's not that pretty

and, what does jail have to do with prettiness?

[maxsolomon]

3. she IS that pretty

and jail has plenty to do with it. the pretty & rich don't go, the ugly & poor do.

since a common part of the punishment of being sent to prison in america is that you'll be raped by other prisoners is a pretty good argument against jail time. if i were her lawyer, i'd use it.

[redqueen]

7. The pretty don't go?

Says who?

[maxsolomon]

30. OJ was pretty

he didn't go.

[redqueen]

37. So was Bundy... and that woman from Canada.

A lone example doesn't really prove anything...

[Orangepeel]

45. attractive people get all sorts of advantages in life

I am not familiar with research that says pretty people are less likely to be convicted of a crime than ugly people, but I'd sure bet money that there is some.

I am aware of research that shows attractive people are likely to judged by others (in a non criminal setting) to be nicer and to be more honest. They are also more likely to be hired for a job and to be paid a higher salary.

Life ain't fair, and neither is the criminal justice system.

Of course, that doesn't mean that the attorney cited in the OP isn't an idiot or that the woman being tried doesn't deserve to go to jail.

[NewJeffCT]

11. I agree on the rich not going

But, I don't know about the pretty?

[gkhouston]

24. nah, that ain't gonna fly

Justice is blind, but it can smell money.

[Gato Moteado]

12. it's actually a better argument for prison reform

if rape and other abuse is as widespread in prisons as we fear it is, then we need to reform the whole system.

i'm not all that concerned with the safety and well being of rapists, murderers and child molestors but when you think of all the people incarcerated for victimless crimes (like possession, etc) being put into a cage with animals, it's very scary.

[Supersedeas]

4. yea, the mental emotional defense seems more appropo on the face of her

[wakeme2008]

6. Right and if that had been a man that had sex with a 14 yo student

Nobody would be talking about why he shouldn't go to jail.

[redqueen]

13. Excellent point. n/t

[Gidney N Cloyd]

2. It's always worked for me...

[redqueen]

5. Can this lawyer really be that stupid?

:eyes:

[Skidmore]

10. Someone needs to ask him if he's been playing school with her

too. Kinda reminds me of that lawyer for the Long Island Lolita, who was having some kind of involvement with his client at the time of her trial.

[Johonny]

8. Why?

If she is so pretty did she have to hook up with a 14 year old?

[Dr.Phool]

21. She's married too.

[TahitiNut]

9. Let's judge for ourselves ...

[redqueen]

14. Oh for God's sake!

[TahitiNut]

25. No fair calling in outside help.

:evilgrin:

[redqueen]

26. Sorry.

I just wasn't prepared for the "women as props" crap outside of the Lounge.

[TahitiNut]

27. Well, Tom Cruise shouldn't get all the coverage.

:evilgrin: Do you recall the women interviewed when Ted Bundy got the death penalty who said "it's a shame such a nice looking man has to be executed"???

Ted Bundy's looks helped him get close enough to murder over 35 women. The susceptibility to appearance is hardly one-sided.

[redqueen]

31. Oh hell no.

It's nowhere near one-sided.

The posting of nearly naked pics nearly is, though.

[Double T]

15. Well, I guess that ends that debate......

she is pretty and HOT!!!!

[proud patriot]

16. but she IS stupid enough for jail

if you are going to do a crime be prepared to do the time .

[TahitiNut]

19. "Whatever goes around, comes around."

Isn't it just ironic that something she's been all-too-willing to capitalize upon can turn out to be a price-to-be-paid?

Every strength can be a weakness - every asset can be a liability. She's "collected" on her looks ... now it's time to pay.


I regard the Ted Bundy's of the world to be the lowest of the low. Some people are blessed with beauty and intelligence and, rather than employ such unearned gifts to improve the world, they exploit them for their own selfish, predatory interests - benefiting from genetic gifts in disproportional and ridiculous ways. I firmly believe that such gifts obligate the recipent to use them in ways that benefit our world - a world that treats them so favorably for such unearned attributes.

[proud patriot]

32. indeed

:hi:

[eissa]

17. She IS pretty!

She should go free! Pretty women should not be in jail! :sarcasm:

[JackRiddler]

22. Now I know this will make me very unpopular here...

How happy my 14-year-old self would have been if she had only wanted to seduce me.

[Bridget Burke]

29. If you had a 14 year old daughter....

Would you mind if her teacher fucked her?

Or would you mind if your 14 year old son was "seduced" by a male teacher?

[JackRiddler]

39. I don't have a 14-year old daughter

I just remember being a 14-year old boy.

At the risk of your ire, I think it's almost certainly different when an adult woman does this with an adolescent male than when an adult man does this with a female. With a man and a girl, given our culture, it will almost certainly involve coercion. With an adult woman it is more than likely to have begun with the boy obviously slavering over her. (NOTE: I could be wrong in this case, haven't explored it yet.)

I don't pretend to know how to codify that likelihood into a law that views all adults as equal under the law, but it's almost certainly different morally and it may well be that this woman is being unfairly punished. I'm not sure if I therefore would support the revision of statutory rape laws with regard to women, but we should at least be able to acknowledge the likelihood of a moral difference.

[Johonny]

40. I got to agree

Of course that's why the responsibility is with the adult and not the 14 year old.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

46. why would the obvious be so unpopular?

;)

and im sure the dad had a really nice long talk with his son about not banging the blonde model teachers anymore. . . dad was probably so disappointed in his son.

[wallwriter]

18. Don't do the crime if ya can't do the time, honey.

[Gormy Cuss]

20. The bigger problem is

once she's in prison and they make her scrape off the makeup and put on the unflattering prison uniform, she just won't feel as pretty anymore.

The attorney has a creative defense, I'll give him that.

[jzodda]

23. LOL that is dumb and I am an attorney

A statement like that in front a judge would not endear my case going forward. Even if its not in front of the same judge, all the judges are in the same building and do talk. To argue that looks have anything to do with justice is only going to make the judges major pissed off! I am surprised the guy is not worrying about his future cases in front of them either!

Even with a jury. If I went in front of a jury and said that I may get the jury thinking but when the pros gets up he can easily (unless hes an idiot) convince the jury that I am insulting their intelligence as jurits to try to make them equate looks with justice.

If thats his legal strategy at trial then she is in TROUBLE! lol

[Catherine Vincent]

28. If anyone would like to know what a slut is,

this is one. I mean come on, she is a pretty woman. She's married. Why on earth would she risk screwing with a 14 year old?

[MercutioATC]

34. You missed the part about "mentally unstable"?

I think that probably has something to do with it.

[stanwyck]

36. As the mother of two former 14-yr. olds

(now about to turn 22 - twins/boy and girl) I can tell you: 14-yr. olds just ain't that sexy. Really. It's generally NOT a person's best age. Most males that age are gawky and pimply and smell bad.
And most girls that age are rather "unfinished" and silly.
They'll all be very attractive adults, in time.
But 14....NOT a person's best age.
This woman must have some mental instability to want sex with a boy.

[Bombtrack]

33. It is so retarded to lock such a generous woman up

she deserves praise, idiots

[MercutioATC]

35. There are probably a lot of 14-uear-old boys who would agree....

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[atomicdawg38]

41. Cracker hmmmm....

Surprising a racial slur is tolerated here at DU.

[yankeedem]

42. You've got it

If she was a pretty black woman, she'd already be in prison.

[truebrit71]

43. An amazing double standard here.....

If it were a MALE teacher that had "seduced" a 14 year-old girl EVERYONE would be baying for blood..including me.....

But because she is a hottie, and men (even young men) are presumed to be little more than dogs, there seems to be little outcry about the crime that took place...

That being said, I can remember vividly what a randy bastard I was at 14 and I have a sneaking hunch that any complaints about the "abuse" wouldn't have been coming from me but rather from jealous classmates....:evilgrin:

[AngryAmish]

44. We have prettier criminals in Chicago

She is an accused triple murderer. Might get the death penalty.