Five years probation. That was the sentencing handed down by a Suffolk Superior Court last week for former Boston College student Brianna Jones in an aggravated assault and battery case, which left a BC student with a punctured lung. While many have expressed dismay over the seemingly lenient punishment, which did not include jail time, officials involved in the investigation and trial process think otherwise.
In fact, the pre-trial process proceeded with remarkable speed, with Jones ultimately accepting an offer from the assistant district attorney's office just seven months after the assault.
Under state guidelines, Jones could have faced up to 15 years in prison for aggravated assault and battery with a deadly weapon, which inflicted serious bodily harm. These guidelines, however, provide a great amount of flexibility for prosecutors, and as in the case of Jones - who had no prior record - defendants often face only probation time.
Depending on the evidence and situation of a specific case, prosecutors can either offer a plea bargain to a defendant, where the defendant agrees to plead guilty in return for a lighter sentence, or recommend a sentence to the judge once the defendent pleads guilty. The ADA decided on the latter of the two in this case, recommending the judge to avoid trial and sentence Jones only to probation time. While the judge in this case accepted the offer, he or she is not bound to accept the prosecutor's offer and may change the sentence if they see fit.
According to the district attorney's office, Jones initially pled not guilty to the charges, which included possesion of a deadly weapon, under the advisment of her attorney, BC alum Steven Kim. Throughout the pre-trial, however, Jones cooperated with the ADA's office and eventually decided to plead guilty in order to avoid what would have been a lengthy trial process.
The decision may have also stemmed from the preponderance of evidence police officials gathered during the investigation. The ADA, Julie Higgins, brought in multiple witnesses from the scene of the crime at BC to testify in front of the grand jury, including administrators and residential assistants. During the investigation following the assault, the BC Police Department found the assault weapon inside of Jones' dorm, after which she was arrested and later indicted in Suffolk Superior Court.
"She opted to plead guilty. That willingness dated back to the time of her arraignment. She wished to take responsibility for her action," said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. "Given that willingness to plead guilty and given the victim made very clear to us that she did not want to take it to trial, we recommended a sentence not to go to trial."
Wark said the ADA office heavily weighted the request of the victim and granted her wish to avoid trial, even in the face of the available evidence. "The decision to seek probation over committed time was based on concern for the victim and the ordeal she would face during a trial," Wark said.
Jones' attorney called the case nothing out of the ordinary, in which the judge was not too harsh or too lenient. "Ms. Jones wanted to go on with her life. She wanted to get this behind her. She didn't want to put her family and everybody else through a trial," Kim said. "When the offer came down, she decided to take it."
For months, rumors had been swirling about the precise nature of the assault, which took place on Lower Campus early last semester, as student confidentiality laws obliged the BCPD to keep details sealed and away from the student body. In a police report obtained from the Boston Police Department, and from a police source who wished to remain anonymous, the victim was stabbed twice after an argument ensued in Vanderslice Hall at approximately 4:40 a.m.
The victim's shock and adrenaline from the sudden strike led her to believe she had been punched rather than stabbed. It was not until after she left the scene to return to her room in Walsh Hall that the victim noticed blood and the puncture.
After responding to an emergency phone call, the BCPD found Jones inside her room in Vanderslice. It took a second call from a student to notify the BCPD of the victim's injury and location. Thankfully for the victim, the BCPD responded to the scene within minutes with its highest trained EMT, Officer Joey Marano.
Marano quickly attended to the victim and had her transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, where she was treated with a punctured lung.
In the end, the DA's office was pleased with the outcome and Jones' willingness to cooperate. "She [Jones] wished to plead guilty at arraignment, but counsel advised her not to. Given that fact, and after consultation with the victim, we reached this decision, which was agreeable to the victim and endorsed by the judge," Wark said.
According to the agreement, Jones must attend anger management therapy and work full time or be enrolled in a four-year university during her probation period. Her probation prohibits Jones from ever possessing weapons considered dangerous and requires her to reimburse the victim's medical cost of $1,648 and pay a probation fee of $65 a month. A violation of these terms could send Jones to jail.
To Jones' attorney, however, this shouldn't be a problem. "Her wishes are to move on with her life," Kim said.
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