Mount Vernon, IL Attorneys, Lawyers and Law Firms

Melinda Muniz has been arrested and charged with the death of Grace Ford, the two-year-old daughter of her fiance, who reportedly broke up with her.

Aside from being the fiancee of the victim's father, Muniz was also the caregiver of the little girl.

Muniz's arrest has generated widespread anger with hundreds expressing their disgust for the suspect online.

Robbie McClung, a Dallas criminal attorney who will be defending for Muniz, urged the public to wait for all the facts before judging Muniz.

The police have also stated that Muniz is not considered guilty until proven otherwise.

A plea deal agreement has Broderick Kenyo Smith admitting to manslaughter instead of capital murder in the death of Arlando Maurice Pritchett in 2012.

The plea agreement will have Smith serving just a year in jail for a split sentence of 10 years.

His jail stay will be followed with probation for three years.

Should Smith violate his probation, he could be made to serve the rest of his 10-year sentence.

According to the police, Pritchett had an argument with a cab driver prior to his shooting while Smith admitted that he had been driving a cab during the time of the incident.

Birmingham defense attorney Charles Salvagio said Smith had shot Pritchett because the latter had robbed him.

J. Kevin Kelley was handed a six-year prison sentence for his involvement in the Cuyahoga corruption case, considered as one of the biggest in the county.

Kelley was the first defendant to offer his cooperation to the FBI who was investigating the corruption issue.

He admitted to being the one who collects and pays off the bribes to county officials.

During his sentencing, Kelley issued an apology to his family as well as the taxpayers of Cuyahoga County.

Kelley has also been ordered to pay restitution of about $700,000.

Kelley's cooperation ensured the cooperation of other defendants in the case and the conviction of several people involved in the corruption.

Cleveland defense attorney John Gibbons said there is no excuse for Kelley's involvement in the corruption, however, his cooperation is the best way for him to make amends.

Theft charges against Subhanna Beyah were dropped after her victim, New York Giants' Shaun Rogers, refused to cooperate with the authorities.

Jonathan Meltz, Beyah's lawyer in Miami, could not be contacted to comment on the issue.

Miami prosecutors believed that Beyah did to Rogers what she did to two other men, wherein she drugged them before stealing their valuables.

According to the police, Rogers had met Beyah at the nightclub of the hotel where he was staying.

Together with another couple, they had gone up to his room where he went to sleep while the others were partying. Before he went to sleep, he put his jewelry inside a safe in the room. When he woke up, Beyah was already gone and so was his jewelry worth almost $500,000.

Rogers had told the prosecution that he was not willing to cooperate during the one time he spoke with them.

Despite the failure of the theft charges to prosper, the prosecution instead will go ahead with charging Beyah for violating her probation wherein she is looking at a 20-year prison sentence if convicted.

Ken Anderson, the former District Attorney of Williamson County, was meted with a 10-day jail term after the judge accepted his no-contest plea for the charge of contempt of court.

The charge steamed from the wrongful conviction of Michael Morton who was found guilty for the murder of his wife in 1986 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

However, in 2011, Morton's conviction was overturned using DNA as proof that he did not kill his wife.

In the light of that development, Anderson, who had prosecuted Morton's case, was scrutinized and was determined to have erred when he withheld evidence which would have been beneficial for Morton's defense.

Aside from the short jail stay, Anderson will also have to give up his license as a lawyer and as part of the plea bargain, he will also be disbarred for five years.

Austin attorney Eric Nichols, however, pointed out that there will be no conviction for Anderson on any criminal charge.

Morton, for his part, said he is more than happy with the result because all he wanted was for Anderson not to practice law anymore to prevent what happened to him from happening to anyone else again.

Anderson was also fined and made to do community service.