Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Why does it take 5 years to sentence a guilty plea?

Twin Falls, ID: This guy was driving 75 in a 35 through a residential area, rear ended a pickup stopped at a red light, pushing it out into heavy traffic where it was hit by several other cars. The pickup driver's wife died and 7 others were injured. This guy indicated that it was on purpose and he was charged with 1st degree murder. His lawyer plead it down to 2d degree murder and 7 counts of aggravated assault.

That was in 2019. Here we are in 2024 and it's still floating around in the courts. He just had another hearing where he wanted to withdraw the guilty plea, saying it was a medical problem. He's afraid that a stack of guilty pleas will send him up for life (that would be a good idea). The judge won't let him out of his plea. But, here we are, 5 years later, with a guilty plea, and he still hasn't been sentenced.
I'm not a lawyer and I don't understand the court system. This just seems absurd to me.

Lawyers make a lot of money playing these games. Judges are complicit and willing participants IMO.