Woman guilty in brutal gay bashing assault wants lesser jail sentence
A Philadelphia woman who was last week sentenced to up to ten months in prison is to appeal for a lesser sentence.
Kathryn Knott was sentenced to 5-10 months in prison last week for her role in the 2014 beating of a gay couple in Philadelphia, reports Philly Voice.
Knott was also handed two years of probation and a $2,000 fine by the judge – concluding a process described as “harrowing” by the victims, Andrew Haught and Zachary Hesse.
Knott was taken into custody immediately after the hearing, after Judge Roxanne Covington also ordered her to attend anger management classes and stay away from her victims upon release.
Before sentencing, Knott read a statement in an attempt to show her remorse.
“I am so sorry to what happened to you both on the night of Sept. 11, 2014,” Knott said.
“I ask you now for your forgiveness and I hope that you some day will be able to provide it.
“Again, I apologise to you and your families. I wish you nothing but the best.”
However her new attorney, Bill Brennan has asked for her sentence to be reduced.
The reason? According to Brennan, Knott “has learned a lot in the 18 months” since the attack.
“Frankly, my client will be out in a few months either way,” Brennan said.
“It’s to establish dialogue with the community and begin to heal the wounds with the victims, the community and the city.”
Other than saying he wants a more “rehabilitative” sentence for Knott, Brennan did not specify what they are asking of the courts.
Knott was found guilty of simple assault and reckless endangerment in 2015, after refusing to accept a plea bargain offered by the prosecution which saw her two co-defendants avoid prison.
However, the jury also acquitted her of four counts which included aggravated assault on each of the victims.
Knott’s legal team had hoped to get her off on a technicality – after a juror admitted reading comments about the trial online, before creating an ‘Ask Me Anything’ page on Reddit.
