Huffman Broke Down In Court, ‘Saying I Am Deeply Ashamed Of What I Have Done’
Despite several letters attesting to the character of actress Felicity Huffman, a federal judge sentenced her to 14 days in prison and a 30 thousand dollar fine.
The actress arrived for her sentencing hearing with her actor husband William H. Macy. She also must do 250 hours of community service as part of her sentence. Huffman will also be on supervised release (probation) for one year after her release. She tried to show remorse for what she did, by saying, “I am deeply sorry to the students, parents, colleges, universities impacted by my actions”.
The government asked the judge to sentence her to 30 days, the defense said she should not serve any time in prison. Right before a sentence was imposed Huffman said, “I was frightened and scared and I was so stupid”. Her lawyers wanted a year of probation and a $20,000 fine, and no prison time.
The judge wasn’t having it. He said, “You knew what you did was fraud, so there has to be some prison time”. Huffman said her daughter asked her, “why she didn’t have faith in her”.
Felicity Huffman Said She Was Prepared To Accept The Punishment The Judge Handed Down
The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, who said this case ‘shows the imbalance in America very clearly’. Talwani said, “this is a system which does not have a pure meritocracy’. ‘A person in position of wealth has it much easier position than the meritocracy of college admissions’. T
he judge told Huffman that she took advantage of a system that she already had a huge advantage in over other students and parents. She also said she took particular pleasure in sentencing Huffman to prison time but believed it ‘was the right call’. When the hearing was over, Macy was seen walking towards his wife and putting his hands on her shoulders. Huffman’s eyes were red and she was seen crying throughout the hearing.
Ordered To Report To Prison On October 25th
The Judge said “Ms Huffman, I wish you success moving forward”. Huffman responded with a simple ‘thank you’. Huffman is one of the first parents to be sentenced in the wide sweeping college admission scam.
The scam is the largest ever of it’s type, and affected the most elite colleges and universities in the country. Huffman pleaded guilty in May to paying Rick Singer the mastermind of the scam $15K for her daughter’s ACT scores to be higher.
Huffman also publicly apologized to her daughter Sophia Macy, for her role in the scam. Her daughter’s score was changed from a 1020 to 1420. Huffman also sent a letter to the judge ahead of her sentencing. She said she just wanted to give her daughter an edge, but now she regrets it. She called the act, “Her most regrettable in her life”.