Ashanti Hamilton Plea Agreement

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Wagner made Ashanti Hamilton a happy man today. Relatively happy, I suppose.

The felony child abuse charges against him could be dropped after a year.

"Under state law, an alderman convicted of a felony must be removed from the Common Council upon sentencing."

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A judge on Wednesday approved a long-awaited plea agreement that will result in the dropping of felony child abuse charges against Milwaukee Ald. Ashanti Hamilton if he keeps a clean record for the next year.

The deal apparently was almost quashed after Hamilton made statements April 30 to the Journal Sentinel that prosecutor Matthew Torbenson thought indicated that Hamilton did not sincerely appreciate the wrongfulness of his acts.

"Mr. Hamilton said his statements were misconstrued," Torbenson said, adding that he had asked Hamilton to make a public statement of clarification.

In an interview with the Journal Sentinel's Daniel Bice, Hamilton said he did not believe he abused the child physically, didn't think he had done anything wrong and decided to accept the plea negotiation to for the sake of his children.

Hamilton, 36, was charged with striking his 6-year-old daughter with a plastic hanger March 22 while at his home.

At his sentencing hearing before Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Wagner, Hamilton complied with Torbenson's request.

"Responsible parenting requires discipline," Hamilton said. "I chose a form of discipline that was not wise. It was appropriately called into question."

Hamilton's ex-wife, Isis Muhammad, testified at the hearing that her four daughters miss their father and asked that his visitation rights be restored, though supervised at first.

"They are afraid of what he might say to them," Muhammad said, adding that the girls think he is being portrayed as the victim in the situation. "We need to come back together as a family."

She also said the incident and the publicity that followed had a tremendous effect on her and her daughters.

"The media has alienated my children," Muhammad said.

Speaking to her ex-husband, she said: "It was not my intent to assassinate your character. I had to protect our daughters and would expect you to do the same."

Muhammad shouldn't be blaming the media for hurting her daughters.

Hamilton physically harmed their 6-year-old daughter.

Her ex-husband is a public figure, an elected official. He was charged with child abuse, a felony.

That's a story that must be reported. The public has a right to know.

How did Muhammad expect this to play out?

Muhammad and Hamilton should care about their daughters' well-being. The girls aren't pawns to be exploited in the couple's battles with each other.

...If Hamilton violates the terms of the plea agreement, he could face a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a fine of $10,000. In addition to keeping a clean record for the next year, Hamilton must do 25 hours of community service and take a parenting or anger management class.

Is 25 hours of community service and taking a parenting or anger management course an appropriate punishment?

Milwaukee Ald. Ashanti Hamilton hit his 6-year-old daughter with a hanger at least eight times, leaving whip marks on her arms and legs, according to a felony child abuse complaint against him released Monday.

The girl was crying and screaming, her leg was bleeding and the hanger was broken by the time the beating ended, according to a criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

I don't think justice was served here.

I certainly don't think Hamilton should be an alderman.