According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess has rejected the plea agreements offered to Shawn and Craig Christy on charges that they harassed and threatened via interstate communications several people associated with Sarah Palin.
Judge Burgess said Wednesday that the terms of the agreement were too lenient. In exchange for a guilty plea, the father and son would have received a sentence of 5 years probation, mandatory mental-health care, and a near complete prohibition from computer and Internet use.
Given the extreme nature of the phone threats the Christys were recorded making, Burgess said, he feared that probation would not be sufficient means of preventing the two from engaging in similar conduct.
Craig Christy's court-appointed attorney argued that the men can be deterred from future violations. And a pre-sentencing memorandum filed by the defense cites untreated Lyme disease as a possible reason for the Christys' behavior.
"Craig Christy does not contest that the calls made by him and his son caused unnecessary concern and fear. He is ashamed of many of the things he said and is truly apologetic," said the memorandum.
Shawn and Craig Christy remain jailed in Anchorage.
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