In news from American Samoa, a woman convicted of assaulting her husband and threatening him with a machete was sentenced by the High Court yesterday morning to 5 years probation.
The defendant, a 29-year-old mother, appeared in Court yesterday morning for sentencing after she was convicted of 2nddegree assault, a class D felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, and/ or a fine of up to $5,000.
Samoa News reported, that the defendant apologized to the court for her action and tearfully begged the court for another chance to allow her to return back home to be with her family, especially her young children.
She also apologized to her husband for what she did.
Defence attorney, Michael White asked the court to adopt the recommendation in the plea agreement and sentence his client to a term of probation. White said his client is truly remorseful and she wants to go back home to provide for her young children and assist her husband in caring for their family.
The defendant was warned if she commits the same offence involving domestic violence while on probation, she will serve time in jail.
The defendant was sentenced by the court to 5 years probation under the condition that she serves 20 months at the Territorial Correctional Facility without any release. She will be credited for over 9 months she served while awaiting the outcome of her case. The balance will stay until further order of the court and the defendant was released forthwith after she was sentenced.
The defendant was also ordered to attend and complete the Battering Intervention and Prevention Program coordinated by the Department of Human and Social Services.
The defendant was further ordered to remain law-abiding, visit the Probation office once a month and not consume alcohol or possess any illegal drugs. She also was ordered to submit herself for random testing to make sure she is in compliance with the orders of the court.
