Reply to Chris Watts is exploring the possibility of appealing his sentence and hoping for a new trial

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Reply to "Chris Watts is exploring the possibility of appealing his sentence and hoping for a new trial"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I know nothing about this specific case, but it isn't unusual for someone to plead guilty but then appeal the sentence ultimately given by the judge.  It is less common to appeal substantively, which would be needed to get a new trial granted, but you can plead guilty while retaining the right to appeal a legal issue made by the judge.  For example, say the judge excluded certain evidence or a certain defense ahead of trial.  Given that ruling, you feel you are cooked so you want to plead guilty.  You might be able to plead guilty, but retain the right to appeal the judge's legal ruling.  If the legal ruling is overturned, your guilty plea would be vacated.[/quote]

I don't think this is entirely true. The guilty plea would not be vacated, but he just has the ability to appeal other parts of the ruling. When you sign a plea deal, they tell you that you can't appeal it. If he wanted the ability to appeal the guilty plea, he would have had to plea not guilty and go through the trial.

He killed them. If he thinks he can appeal for a lesser sentence than the multiple life sentences, he has plenty of time left to sit and rot while he thinks about it.[/quote]

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