By Zachary Cook
REUTERS
NEW YORK — A New York woman was sentenced on Monday under the state’s “Granny Law” to one year in jail for punching an elderly Wal-Mart greeter in the face after a Christmas Eve shopping spree.
It was the second time the upstate New York woman, Jacquetta Simmons, 28, was sentenced in Genesee County Court, after her original sentence of five years in prison was successfully appealed with the argument that it was too harsh for a first-time offender.
“One punch shouldn’t be enough” to trigger New York’s tough Granny Law, which calls for harsher penalties for crimes against the elderly, said Simmons’ lawyer, Earl Key.
Her legal team said the new sentence of a year behind bars was more appropriate.
Prosecutor Lawrence Friedman disagreed. “This does not do justice to the victim at all,” Friedman said.
Full story: NY woman gets one year in jail for punching Wal-Mart greeter