Sarah Lavis

That is not what we were prepared for.

And I think a lot of people are the same.

We don't understand what it actually means when we take that plea.

Yeah.

And I think that's what people don't understand why it doesn't make sense.

They don't realize what you get charged with is not what you get sentenced with.

And so that follows all the way through.

So next time you come up,

they're only looking at what you got sentenced for.

They're not looking at what you got charged with.

I think that there needs to be more succinct laws where this is your crime, this is the time that you get, this is your time for parole.

There's so much nuance and every judge can decide

what they're going to put in, what they're not going to put in, how long are they going to go, the minimum, the maximum.

If what they're charged with is what they have to go before the courts for, you shouldn't be able to decide yourself as a perpetrator what you want to plead guilty to.

I think I would say to victims that it is a roller coaster, but you can get there in the end.

And focusing on the court process sometimes gives you something to work towards.

Mm-hmm.

But don't focus on it to the point where you're going to get really disappointed when it doesn't go your way.

And just report, like do it for yourself.

If it doesn't go to court, don't worry about it.