So even the Amish have extremists now...
Mullet’s three sons, his daughter, and 11 other family members and followers
from his ultra-strict Amish order 100 miles southeast of Cleveland also were
convicted of conspiracy and hate crimes after a trial that attracted
international attention.
The 66-year-old bishop could face life in prison for his crimes. U.S.
District Judge Dan Aaron Polster scheduled sentencing hearings for Jan. 24.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bridget Brennan said federal sentencing guidelines recommend a minimum of 17 1/2 years for the other 15 defendants given that their crimes involved violence and kidnapping.
But defense attorneys said the judge has the discretion to sentence some of Mullet’s followers to as little as time already served in jail.
A jury of seven men and five women announced the verdicts Thursday afternoon after deliberating for 37 hours over five days.
Defense attorney Edward Bryan, who represented Samuel Mullet during the three-week trial in U.S. District Court, said he was shocked by the jurors’ decision to convict his client, and will appeal.
“There was very little, in fact no evidence, connecting Sam Mullet to any of these matters,” Bryan said. “The government was successful in convincing the jury that he had a Svengali-like influence over these people.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bridget Brennan said federal sentencing guidelines recommend a minimum of 17 1/2 years for the other 15 defendants given that their crimes involved violence and kidnapping.
But defense attorneys said the judge has the discretion to sentence some of Mullet’s followers to as little as time already served in jail.
A jury of seven men and five women announced the verdicts Thursday afternoon after deliberating for 37 hours over five days.
Defense attorney Edward Bryan, who represented Samuel Mullet during the three-week trial in U.S. District Court, said he was shocked by the jurors’ decision to convict his client, and will appeal.
“There was very little, in fact no evidence, connecting Sam Mullet to any of these matters,” Bryan said. “The government was successful in convincing the jury that he had a Svengali-like influence over these people.”
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