“Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman receives a shortened prison sentence.
Felicity Huffman was recently sentenced to serve 14 days in prison for the college admissions scandal that broke in March. She is set to report to prison on October 25.
Prosecutors suggested she serve one month in prison along with a $20,000 fine. However, she received one year of probation, 250 hours of community service and a $30,000 fine in addition to the 14-day sentence.
In a statement to the media, Huffman said, “I broke the law. I have admitted that and I pleaded guilty to this crime. There are no excuses or justifications for my actions. Period.”
Although Huffman wanted to give her daughter a “fair shot” for college admissions, she acknowledged that paying $15,000 to improve SAT scores does not qualify as fair in any way.
“I especially want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college,” Huffman said. “And to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices supporting their children.”
This has been dubbed the largest college admissions scandal in U.S. history by several news outlets.
When Huffman first agreed to plead guilty, the maximum sentence she could have been administered was 20 years in prison, penalty fines and three years of supervised release. Since it was brought down significantly lower, it will inevitably affect the sentences for other parents involved in this scandal.
Not only will Huffman’s sentence be a gauge for others incriminated in this case, but it will also be taken into consideration if and when another scandal like this should occur in the future.
Huffman’s legal team argued that her sentence should not be dealt with more harshly because of her wealth and fame. However, changing the wording of that phrase to emulate impartiality means she should not be treated differently, not necessarily more or less harsh. Regardless of her status, her sentence should be treated in the same way as anyone else who has committed a crime of the same type. Unfortunately, it clearly held some weight given Huffman’s shortened sentence.
Though this case has caused much outrage from the public, it has caused very little surprise. No one is shocked that a white collar criminal received a much shorter sentence than should be administered.
That is the most disappointing part of the justice system.
Using one’s privilege to their advantage in order to get out of prison time could almost be understood as a natural inclination. However, it does not excuse attempting to sway judicial decisions. Furthermore it does not explain why the judicial system caves to privilege and allows the guilty to use and abuse it.
This situation, and judicial bribery in general, continues to reinforce the stigma that money can solve everything. Our justice system should not be using fame or power as a factor when dealing out sentences as a result from serious crimes.
It has become so common that people of celebrity status can use that to their advantage to evade harsher sentences, while ordinary people who committed the same crimes are receiving sentences that are significantly more severe.
Treating celebrities in this manner is coddling them. It signifies a light slap on the wrists while others receive broken bones. However, I am not suggesting that celebrities get the harsher sentences, or that non-celebrities get lighter sentences.
I cannot claim to be a criminal justice aficionado, but even in my limited knowledge, keeping sentences consistent for the same crimes and not taking a person’s status into account is a more viable way to prevent this from happening in the future, and is integral to our justice system.
It could be debated for hours what the outcome would have been if this case was a parent without the wealth and fame Huffman possesses. That possibility aside, the fact remains that Huffman got off nearly scot-free because of her social standing that played an unfair role in her sentencing.
Huffman’s case unfortunately sets a precedence for future cases that might lead to more leniency in sentencing for white collar crimes, and is something that the public and the justice system alike should continue to fight against.