New York criminal defense attorney Arthur Aidala is relieved that his client, Brigitte Harris is receiving the support that she needs; especially, since it is from the jury members.
Having been sexually abused by her father since she was 3, the 28-year-old could not allow her father to inflict the same torture on her nieces, whom he was about to live with. The New York Daily News reports that she planned to castrate her father and burn his penis when she invited him over to her apartment. What she claimed was not planned, was his death by asphyxiating on his gag.
The jurors not only lessened her sentence from murder to manslaughter with a 15-year sentence maximum, but after the trial, seven of them even asked for her to be granted time served. They did this in hopes that she could receive the psychological care that she needs. This means that the time that she has spent in prison before and during her trial would count towards the total number of years that she is sentenced to carry out.
Aidala remarks, "I've spoken to judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys, and nobody has ever heard of jurors doing this."
Related Resources:
- New York Criminal Defense Attorney Directory (FindLaw)
- Victim Resources (FindLaw)
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