Kane could get time in prison
PHILADELPHIA — Montgomery County prosecutors want a judge to send former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane to prison, arguing that she has shown no remorse since a jury found her guilty in August of perjury and other crimes.
In a court filing Monday they asked Montgomery County Court Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy to impose a “significant and stiff sentence,” saying Kane’s crimes were calculated and deliberate. In a pre-sentencing investigation, they said, Kane had referred to her conviction as the result of “a 30-second decision.” But, they said, “this is simply not true.”
Kane’s attorneys, meanwhile, have requested that Kane serve her sentence under house arrest because she needs to care for her two sons.
“The thought of losing my kids over a job kills me,” Kane told pre-sentencing investigators, according to an excerpt quoted by prosecutors.
A jury convicted Kane in August of orchestrating an illegal leak of grand jury materials to embarrass a political foe, plotting a cover-up, and lying about it under oath.
The maximum term she could receive is 12 to 24 years in prison, although state sentencing guidelines for first-time offenders recommend a far lesser sentence.
Demchick-Alloy, who will determine Kane’s sentence next week, on Monday ordered a court assessment of Kane’s suitability for house arrest, which District Attorney Kevin Steele has opposed. Steele argued that Kane shares custody of her sons with her husband, from whom she has filed for divorce, and that jail time would be the only appropriate punishment.
