Surviving Backpage co-founder rejects sweetheart plea deal
As you may recall, Backpage co-founder Jim Larkin took his own life just days before his trial for money laundering and facilitating prostitution was set to take place. That left the remaining Backpage co-founder, Michael Lacey, set to go to trial without his friend and colleague.
The trial has been rescheduled for August 29th, but this past Friday, there was a hearing where Lacey and his remaining co-defendants were offered plea deals. I imagine the plea deals were offered in the wake of Jim Larkin’s death, as a way of avoiding trial. Both Lacey and Larkin have used the charges against them as a narrative they’re being persecuted for their free speech rights.
If you’re not familiar with this story, Backpage was the online classifieds where countless women and children were bought and sold for sex through thinly veiled prostitution ads. Lacey and Larkin would continually cite the First Amendment as their ordained right to make money from these ads. The courts agreed with this argument until 2018 when the Federal Government seized Backpage and charged the owners and co-founders with money laundering and facilitating prostitution, two things not protected by the First Amendment in case you were wondering.
In an act of arrogance, ignorance, or both, Michael Lacey rejected a plea deal offered to him by federal prosecutors. The deal offered Lacey a chance to plead guilty to one charge of conspiracy, which would see him face a maximum of five years in prison. Considering the fact that Lacey is a rich white dude, he probably would have gotten three years at sentencing, sent to a minimum security prison, and served maybe 18 months at most.
Now that Lacey has refused the deal, he’ll go to trial, facing over 70 charges which could see him go to prison for at least 20 years. Which again, I doubt he’ll be sentenced to half of that if convicted.
But you can’t bargain with a fanatic, and I think Lacey truly believes his First Amendment rights are being violated. Lacey’s defense will probably hinge on the free speech argument, just out of spite.
But as I’ve been saying for over a decade, Michael Lacey’s supposed First Amendment rights don’t trump the rights of all the victims of Backpage who were trafficked against their will.
(Source)
Backpage trial moves closer; Michael Lacey, others reject plea deals (paywall)
