Benton's lawyers turn down two plea deals

A little more information today on the plea deal that Ashley Benton's attorneys turned down this week: According to the Chronicle, the deal would have resulted in no prison time for Benton in exchange for a murder plea:

Schaffer said the first offer from prosecutors included 10 years of deferred adjudication for the 17-year-old, a form of probation where defendants avoid conviction if they complete the terms.

He said Benton's camp is hoping for a lesser charge, such as aggravated assault, and a shorter probationary term.

It's an interesting bit of information, considering that Benton's attorneys said earlier that deferred adjudication was the only offer they would consider — but we assume deferred adjudication with a murder plea probably wasn't so attractive to them. Schaffer said there was a second plea deal offered on Thursday, but the defense turned it down, too; he wouldn't give details of that offer.

Schaffer said the defense team is looking for a lesser charge and a shorter probationary term, and legal experts agreed that they should try for that, noting that Benton would face the full punishment for murder — between five and 99 years or life in prison — if she violated her probation during that 10-year sentence. "Ten years is a long time for a 17-year-old to walk a tightrope," defense attorney Vivian King told the Chronicle. "I wouldn't take that deal either." And Adam Gershowitz, a professor at South Texas College of Law, said legal types sometimes call deferred adjudication "DA layaway" because defendants almost always end up breaking their probation. "If [Benton] fouls out, she could go away for decades," he said.

Whatever ends up happening — whether a deal or a second trial — Schaffer said Benton will lay low. He told the Chronicle that two death threats had recently been made against her, so she will move and take a new name when the legal process is over (assuming, of course, that she's not in jail).