Criminal Law

Far too often those in the criminal justice system offer the same mantra: “our job is to rehabilitate people.” But far too often that claim is simply untrue. Take, for example, the case of Nicole Defontes, which was highlighted in the Daily Business News two weeks ago. Ms. Defontes was sentenced to four and half years in prison for her participation in a cocaine deal with her former boyfriend. Upon entering prison, Defontes made a commitment to rehabilitation—she graduated from both high school and college while in prison and qualified for a Bureau of Prisons drug rehabilitation program that allowed to her to receive a year off her prison sentence, only if she met strict requirements. Once Defontes was relocated from prison to a federal half-way house, she was hired at a West Palm Beach drug and alcohol counseling center, and quickly rose from “laundry detail to an administrative position.” By all accounts, Defontes was leading a productive law abiding life and meeting the obligations imposed upon her through supervision at the half-way house.