A judge in Philadelphia has agreed to consider a resentencing motion from Kathryn Knott, who was convicted in the mob attack on a gay couple in September 2014 in Center City and began serving prison time in early February, Philly.com reports:
Common Pleas Court Judge Roxanne Covington set a 9 a.m. hearing on March 8 “to consider the merits” of a motion filed by defense attorney William J. Brennan. The motion asks Covington to reconsider the five-to-10-month jail sentence she handed down to Knott last month.
Next week's proceeding is not a resentencing hearing, but one in which the judge will consider the merits of the defense's request.
Knott's lawyer appeared before a judge in mid-February seeking a lighter sentence for his client yesterday, Philly.com reported:
As an alternative to being locked up, attorney William Brennan suggested that 25-year-old Knott could perform a public-service announcement “where she could take the infamy of the arrest and maybe heal some wounds.”
Brennan's main argument was that her co-assailants, who both took plea deals, got lighter punishments. Both received probation.
Brennan said there should be parity in the sentences and Knott “can't be punished for exercising her constitutional right to a trial.”
He said that Knott will “be out in a few months either way,” so sentencing her instead to community service would “turn it into something positive.”
…Brennan said his client is serving her sentence “quietly and with dignity” but that she could be doing something meaningful for the LGBT community through community service.
Knott can still consider appealing her sentence, according to the paper.