Crimesider
Crimesider
February 28, 2013 9:15 AM

Short sentence for a short man: Judge feared 5-foot-1 convict would be "lunchmeat" in prison

By
Crimesider Staff
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Daily Blotter

A Maryland judge sentenced a man to a relatively short sentence for assault because, well, the convict is rather short himself.

/ CBS
(CBS/AP) ANNAPOLIS, Md. - A Maryland man who pleaded guilty to assault has been spared time in prison by a judge due to his short stature - not the judge's, the defendant's.

Is this the height of foolishness?

Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Paul A. Hackner sentenced 25-year-old Marcus Freeman to 18 months in county jail on Monday, taking note of Freeman's 5-foot-1-inch height.

The judge said he feared Freeman would be "lunchmeat" in a state prison, where any sentence longer than 18 months must be served.

The Capital of Annapolis reports that Freeman pleaded guilty to assault and entered an Alford plea to second-degree assault in a triple stabbing on Aug. 10.


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