Pinellas County Jail

Pre-sentencing

Interview with Toby, J. Friday, Jeremy and Keith


JM: Tell us about the pre-sentencing process:
Toby: i spent 4 1/2 mos. in jail before i was finally sentenced.
J. Friday: Pre-sentencing is mostly communicating with your lawyer as much as possible so you know as much as you can before you go to court.
Jeremy: Not bad. Was placed in Central for 2 weeks until my court date.
Keith: I was wrongly arrested for burglary and simple battery which I didn't commit, stayed in jail for 25 days for no reason. The Clearwater Police didn't read me my rights and didn't have a deaf interputer because I'm deaf. The State Attorney had to let me go because not enough proof or information, and dropped charges against me. So I need to sue that Clearwater Police.

JM: Did you have police stop by your house for questioning?
Toby: no
J. Friday: No, the only time the police came by my house was to arrest me for a VOP warrant.
Jeremy: Only to arrest me for a VOP.
Keith: No.

JM: What was your court appearance like?
Toby: the judge talked while my public defender explained everything to me. it was all very fast and i felt like i was being pushed along something i didn't completely understand.
J. Friday: My final court apperance,when I recieved my jail sentence, was nerve wracking to say the least. The state was looking for a year and a day in prison, and I was hoping for 11 months in county.
Jeremy: Nervous, but then happy afterwords. Recieved time served and was released.
Keith: Lousy.