Federal & State Sentence Mitigation Specialists
Facing a federal prison sentence is a challenging time for you, your family and your loved ones.
When you hire Liberty Advisors LLC, we will work with your defense team to provide a number of services and fill a variety of roles. These services are provided throughout each phase of your journey through the legal system – from the time you receive a target letter, get arrested or otherwise find yourself facing criminal charges. We can help through the investigation period, pre-trial services, a guilty plea or trial, sentencing, and incarceration. One of the most commonly requested and offered services is prison sentence mitigation, here is how it works and how it might help you.
Federal Sentencing Guidelines for White Collar Crimes
Your sentence will be determined by consulting the Federal Sentencing Guidelines Manual. While the sentencing guidelines are not mandatory, they are intended to make sentencing more consistent. The guidelines instruct the court to start by determining the base offense level for the offense committed.
Adjustments and Deviations for Sentencing Guidelines
Adjustments are made to the base offense level for previous criminal history, use of a weapon, the extent of damages, and a number of other factors. The court has the authority to deviate from the guidelines for any reason the judge chooses. If the judge deviates from the guidelines, they will explain – either briefly or in detail – the reasons for the deviation.
Aggravating Factors
These are factors that can increase the length of your sentence. Aggravating factors can include but are not limited to:
- The use of a weapon to commit the crime.
- Large sums of money were stolen.
- The number of victims.
- A person is injured during the commission of the crime.
- Hate crimes with special victims.
Mitigating Factors
These are factors that can reduce the length of your sentence. The judge may take them into account. Mitigating factors can include but are not limited to:
- Acceptance of responsibility.
- Diminished capacity.
- Voluntary disclosure.
- Substantial assistance to authorities.
Our Sentence Mitigation Method
When the judge only sees you as a criminal offender, there is no compassion or understanding of you as a person. Reminding the judge that you are a person and all that you have accomplished in your life is highly effective for sentence mitigation. These are some of the ways we work to accomplish that. Our certified mitigation specialists offer a variety of services, including:
Investigation of Your Past and Life Experiences
We look at every aspect of your life. While we are looking for factors that will be favorable and portray you the good person that you are. We will use stories, anecdotes and personal history in our mitigation reports to detail your qualities, such as compassion and understanding, and hardships suffered and trauma endured. The goal is to get the judge to identify with you as a fellow human being. This action for which you are facing charges is not who you are – we understand that and will help convey that for you.
Interviews With Those Who Know You Best
Family members, immediate and extended, friends, co-workers, clients, and anyone who might be able to provide some insight will be interviewed. We collect memories and anecdotes, records and documents, anything that will give a more complete picture of the real person instead of a hardened criminal as the prosecution would have the court believe you are.
Telling the Court Your Story
We bring all of this information together to tell the judge the story of you. Where you came from, where you have been, what you have experienced, and the things you still hope to accomplish. We want the judge to see you as a child, a parent, a spouse, a sibling, friend, mentor, and most importantly a person. This one time in your life does not define you.
Alternative Options for Federal Sentencing
The guidelines include a sentencing table and punishments start at zero to six months of imprisonment. The guidelines also give alternative options for sentencing to be substituted or added at the judge’s discretion. The guidelines also give the judge the freedom to consider any information regarding your background, character, conduct, and history when deciding the sentence.
These are some of the options the judge can choose to impose for sentencing.
- Probation
- Supervised release
- Intermittent confinement
- Shock incarceration
- Home detention
- Community service
- Community confinement
- Fines
- Restitution
At higher offender status levels there are some minimum incarceration requirements that must be met. Deviation from these guidelines should be explained by the judge on the record along with an explanation of the grounds for deviation, though the explanation may be very brief.
How a Prison Consultant Can Assist You and Your Defense Team
Prison sentence mitigation is just one of the ways that Liberty Advisors can assist you and your defense team. Once sentencing has been decided we have more work to do. We will prepare you for prison. We offer support during incarceration by writing letters, making phone calls, and visitation. We also help you begin the work of getting your life back through guiding, advising and mentorship. At Liberty Advisors our job does not end when your sentence is decided. Contact us to discuss how we can be of assistance to you, your family, and your defense team if you are facing federal prison time. At Liberty Advisors we are more than just prison consultants and we know you are more than just a criminal offender.
