The Water Cooler

Here's what's so stupid about all of this. Forget Updyke, the trees, Alabama, and Auburn. What's the purpose of a plea bargain, ultimately? To achieve a measure of justice while sparing the taxpayers the cost of a trial and keeping the court's docket free for truly important cases. In addition, the plea regarding sentencing should again achieve a measure of justice while sparing the taxpayers the cost of the lengthy incarceration of perpetrators when unnecessary.

If the DA fails to reach a plea with Updyke, the citizens should vote him out, if not impeach him.

And again, let's put aside what we may think Updyke deserves. That's irrelevant. What is important is what Updyke will accept. I'm guessing that Updyke would accept a plea that involves minimal jail time (less than a year), probation, restitution, and community service.

God help the DA if he stubbornly decides to make sure this goes to trial and he doesn't get a conviction. Wouldn't it be ironic if Updyke goes free and the DA gets voted out?

Is the case being tried in Lee County? If so, finding an unbiased jury pool will be impossible. The prosecutor has the upper hand. If the prosecutor did not like the odds of a trial then the plea offer would have been better. The plea offer says something about the strength of the government's case.

Updyke is apparently banned from BDS anyway. The University sent him a letter notifying him of that a few months ago. 13 years is crazy. Whatever he gets, I just hope he doesn't do anymore interviews or shows up around UA events. The quicker we can move on from this story, the better.