Brittany Smith
An Alabama woman has pleaded guilty to murdering a man, who she said raped her. Brittany Joyce Smith, 32, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to AL.com. Under the terms, however, she is set to only serve 18 months in the Jackson County Jail, and 18 months on house arrest. Her lawyer said that she will be let out from behind bars in about seven months because of time served.
Smith was due to stand trial next month in the death of Todd Smith (no relation). She said that he attacked her at her home, head-butted her, choked her until she passed out, raped her, and threatened to kill her. The defendant said that she did not report this because she was afraid, but did leave the name of her attacker with a gas station attendant in case she ended up dying.
She said that her brother Chris McCallie confronted Todd Smith about the alleged rape. Her brother put down his gun after accidentally firing it into a cabinet, and got into a fight with Todd Smith. The defendant said she fatally shot her rapist as he winning the fight, and threatening to kill them both.
The defense asserted that the shooting was legal under the Alabama “Stand Your Ground” law. But the courts ruled against Brittany Smith. She had to face a jury.
“My baby girl doesn’t deserve this,” her mother Ramona McCallie told AL.com in a phone interview. The defendant’s boyfriend Michael Steele also said he believes she is innocent, and said she pleaded guilty because she was scared.
“She was backed against the wall, afraid she was going to spend the rest of her life in prison,” he said.
The defendant faced a possible life sentence if convicted at trial.
“In any case, you’ve got to weigh what you know and can control with what you can’t,” defense lawyer Ron Smith (no relation) said. “We have no control over a jury or a judge that would sentence her.”
[Screengrab via WHNT]
