CO - Jessica Ridgeway, 10, Westminster, 5 Oct. 2012 - #24 *GUILTY PLEA*
- Thread starter SoSueMe
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Ryan Parker ‏@ryanparkerdp
#sigg defense said there is 50,000 pages of evidence, 1,800 pieces of physical evidence and pics to review before plea. #JessicaRidgeway
Ugh! :furious: I may just have to try to get a seat at the next hearing...
#sigg defense said there is 50,000 pages of evidence, 1,800 pieces of physical evidence and pics to review before plea. #JessicaRidgeway
Ugh! :furious: I may just have to try to get a seat at the next hearing...
The Cheese
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Tak Landrock ‏@TakLandrock
BREAKING NEWS: Austin Sigg hearing continued until April 12th at 1:30. #JessicaRidgeway
The Denver Post ‏@denverpost
UPDATE: Austin Sigg arraignment delayed for 30 days in kidnapping, death of Jessica Ridgeway: http://dpo.st/13RryuU
Amanda Kost, 7NEWS ‏@AmandaKost
#JusticeForJessica Austin Sigg attorneys asked for 2 months before having to enter plea, judge gave them 1 month
Mark Meredith ‏@markpmeredith
@KDVR Austin Sigg lawyers wanted 2 months to go over "massive" amount of evidence. Judge Munsinger agrees to one month delay
BREAKING NEWS: Austin Sigg hearing continued until April 12th at 1:30. #JessicaRidgeway
The Denver Post ‏@denverpost
UPDATE: Austin Sigg arraignment delayed for 30 days in kidnapping, death of Jessica Ridgeway: http://dpo.st/13RryuU
Amanda Kost, 7NEWS ‏@AmandaKost
#JusticeForJessica Austin Sigg attorneys asked for 2 months before having to enter plea, judge gave them 1 month
Mark Meredith ‏@markpmeredith
@KDVR Austin Sigg lawyers wanted 2 months to go over "massive" amount of evidence. Judge Munsinger agrees to one month delay
Since he is guilty as he has stated...why do attys interfere with that plea? No need for paperwork guys, wth, let him plead guilty! What evidence do they need to review? AS can tell them whatever they need to know. Enough already.
HE DID IT
HE DID IT
The Cheese
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Jessica's poor family. Another 30 days of waiting.
The Cheese
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Jennifer Brice ‏@CBS4Jenn
Defense wants to "knowingly and intelligently enter a plea" for Austin Sigg which is why they need more time.
Amanda Kost, 7NEWS ‏@AmandaKost
#BREAKING Attorneys for Austin Sigg & judge mentioned Sigg's "Mental health." "Not guilty by reason of Insanity" is still on the table.
Defense wants to "knowingly and intelligently enter a plea" for Austin Sigg which is why they need more time.
Amanda Kost, 7NEWS ‏@AmandaKost
#BREAKING Attorneys for Austin Sigg & judge mentioned Sigg's "Mental health." "Not guilty by reason of Insanity" is still on the table.
According to our local news outlets, at least part of the hold-up has to do with the additional sexual assault charges:
http://kdvr.com/2013/03/12/siggs-guilty-plea-may-hinge-on-sexual-assault-charges/
http://kdvr.com/2013/03/12/siggs-guilty-plea-may-hinge-on-sexual-assault-charges/
GulfCoastKAT
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Furious.
I respect the constitution and our rights but he has already confessed. Why keep this up?
I respect the constitution and our rights but he has already confessed. Why keep this up?
Tennlyn
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http://kdvr.com/2013/03/12/siggs-guilty-plea-may-hinge-on-sexual-assault-charges/
"Though investigators say Sigg confessed to strangling Ridgeway to death and then dismembering her body, he has vehemently denied sexually assaulting the girl."
I'm guessing the prosecution hasn't agreed to drop the sexual assault & child *advertiser censored* charges. :moo:
PrairieWind
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I doubt this has anything to do with an insanity plea issue. His attorneys would have looked at that long ago and not been perhaps this close to entering a plea if there was any discussion of that. There is an awful high burden to meet to get anywhere on an insanity plea. I do suspect the issue of the sexual assault is perhaps the hangup. I dont know that any details have been released in that regard have there?
I view it a little differently, unless I misunderstand your intent (in which case, I apologize in advance). The attorneys asking for a continuance to review evidence in the case would not be a decision AS would necessarily be in control of.
He may indeed want to plea a straight guilty plea, but as his lawyers are tasked with protecting his rights, and making sure the LE agencies have done things the right way in all of it, they are probably encouraging him to allow them the time for due diligence on their part in reviewing all the evidence. This would be especially true depending upon the amount of time the defense atty's have had with all of the evidence (when they received it from the prosecution).
There is, of course, the possibility that they will consider seeking a guilty by reason of temporary insanity plea, and may encourage AS to do so, or that could be part of a plea deal.
As much as this case tears me apart - it hits literally close to my former home - and as much as I feel for Jessica's family, and wish this could be over as soon as possible, I'm actually not surprised they have asked for a continuance. That doesn't mean I'm not frustrated about it, just that it's typical.
I mean, I understand where you're coming from in regard to a defendant being able to tell their attorneys what they want to happen, but a criminal defense attorney's job is partly to prevent them from doing things that will hurt them further.
Regardless of what the defense plans, I pray that AS is never able to walk freely in this world again - whether in prison, or in a high-security mental facility for the rest of his days - can't remember whether CO still has the death penalty or not... and my own emotions on that subject are mixed (not that I believe he can be rehabilitated, or trusted ever again).
My prayers continue for Jessica's family, and all of her friends, and my children's old school and neighborhood. I also feel for AS's family as I can't imagine their pain either, and I see that they are being supportive of JR's family as best they can be given the circumstances. I especially feel for both of the mothers involved - JR's mom, and AS's mom... They have both lost the children they loved and wanted good things for in life. Although obviously different, I can't judge whose pain would perhaps be worse... I pray that I never, ever know...
As always, all of the above is MOO... :cow:
GulfCoastKAT
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Colorado does have the death penalty but it won't apply here because he was 17 when the crimes occurred.
Imo, there were many signs and indicators in Austin Siggs past that may have prevented this tragedy... AS, did not escalate to this horrific level, unnoticed by Justice System authorities sworn to protect Jessica Ridgeway and other's safety, imo...
Imo, Jessica Ridgeway's inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, were denied her by AS's enablers...
'They are aware who they are, imo'... 'Colorado is one of only a few states that refuses to pass Jessica's Law'...
RIP Jessica Ridgeway...
Imo, Jessica Ridgeway's inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, were denied her by AS's enablers...
'They are aware who they are, imo'... 'Colorado is one of only a few states that refuses to pass Jessica's Law'...
RIP Jessica Ridgeway...
My two cents here, a perpetrator can confess to the crime (or aspects to the crime, example "I know I did it but I don't know the details") and have every intention of pleading guilty, and be talked out of it by their own attorney. I had the misfortune to be in a situation recently where my children were abused and their abuser had the excuse that he "didn't remember the details" but he knew he had committed the crime. He turned himself into the police and confessed that he had abused them, and wasn't even arrested until a month later. We were dragged through much of the court process, the pretrial conferences, etc, before he was finally "allowed" to take the plea deal that had been on the table the whole time. (It was stated that he took the plea "against attorney's advice") So, hopefully that gives some insight into why this case is still dragging on even though he confessed. As it was explained to me, they don't want a situation where a person gives a weak or partial confession and then enters a guilty plea, because that can be an issue years down the line if they decide to appeal.
Off topic a bit, in my case I live in a state that does have Jessica's law, and my children's abuser won't be eligible for parole for 25 years. However, due to the way the system works and the limited resources available, he won't actually receive any type of counseling or treatment for at least 20 years. I really have to wonder what the effectiveness is of that, other than just guaranteeing me 25 years of not having to wonder if he's hurting anyone else, followed by a lifetime of wondering how much worse, and angrier the person has gotten in the 25 years they spent locked away without counseling.
Off topic a bit, in my case I live in a state that does have Jessica's law, and my children's abuser won't be eligible for parole for 25 years. However, due to the way the system works and the limited resources available, he won't actually receive any type of counseling or treatment for at least 20 years. I really have to wonder what the effectiveness is of that, other than just guaranteeing me 25 years of not having to wonder if he's hurting anyone else, followed by a lifetime of wondering how much worse, and angrier the person has gotten in the 25 years they spent locked away without counseling.
Ghostwheel
Pyrrhonist
The bolded part is the key here. He has already admitted to kidnapping, murder, dismemberment. IMO, if he did not sexually assault the girl, he will not back down on this charge. Period. I don't think he would deny the child *advertiser censored* charge, but I don't think he will accept blame for anything he did not do.
ETA: This could be very important to him, a point to make to his family, possibly.
As a parent of survivors myself, my heart goes out to you. Only the civil portion of our case was protracted, thankfully, but even then it was incredibly frustrating, and heartbreaking, and tremendously challenging to deal with... Even now, years later, it still can cause issues. (On the last thread I shared why Jessica's case hit so literally close to home for myself, and my children as we lived in the same neighborhood, my oldest shares her name, and attended the same school when my children were abused by a neighbor over 10 years ago).
I totally hear you in regard to the 25 years, and the doubts about not mandating counseling during those first years of confinement. That seems extremely counter-intuitive to me. Like you said, what good is it to let someone with obvious issues stew for 20 years in that kind of environment without at least affording them some opportunity to come to grips with the seriousness of their crimes. That sounds like a recipe for disaster, imo - especially with the rates of recidivism being so high for sexual offenders already...
The more I think on that, the more alarming it becomes, really. Many criminals will state that the reason they got put into prison is because they weren't good enough at the crimes they committed, but many times in prison they learned more ways to commit those crimes effectively, and avoid discovery when they were eventually released. I don't know how that would be any different in the case of sexual offenders... except for the fact that I know the general prison population views these types of criminals as the lowest of the low... Even criminals have lines that they believe shouldn't be crossed - abusing a child is one of them...