Could Mayor LaToya Cantrell receive and accept a plea deal from federal prosecutors in her ongoing criminal case? A former prosecutor says it could happen, but that ex-prosecutor says Cantrell would still receive jail time.
"The feds are unlikely to offer something that would guarantee no jail time," former Assistant United States Attorney Pat Fanning said.
According to Fanning, prosecutors will use sentencing guidelines for Cantrell's charges to calculate a plea deal that would shave off time from a possible jail sentence. However, Fanning says that before Cantrell considers accepting any plea deal, she has to ask herself several questions.
"I tell clients all the time that there have to be three things present before you plead guilty: first, you have to be guilty; second, they have to prove that you're guilty because even if you're are and they can't prove it, you don't plead guilty; and third, there has to be some benefit to you," Fanning said.
"You look at the evidence, and you say, what's the likelihood that I'm going to get convicted? If I go to trial and I get convicted, what am I going to get?" Fanning continues. "If it's likely that I'm going to get convicted and I enter into a plea, what am I going to get, and is it going to be substantial?"
Even if federal prosecutors are contemplating offering Cantrell a plea deal, Fanning says it's too early for Cantrell's camp to think about the idea. That's because Cantrell and her attorneys need to determine what evidence the federal government has against the mayor.
"I think what has to happen first is the defense goes in and requests discovery, and the government gets discovery. Then they'll get a better idea of what the case will look like when they go to trial," Fanning said.