Does Chrisley Know Best?

While I was incarcerated, one of the ways to pass time was to watch TV. I tried to fill my time with other more constructive things to do. I learned to crochet, I at one point was enrolled in business classes, I worked, and I attended Bible Studies and Church. I had seen “Chrisley Knows Best” maybe one time before, but I didn’t really become a fan until this point. It was nice watching a Christian family poke fun at each other, Nanny Faye’s antics, Todd’s southern sass, and Julie to doting mom. It cracked me up how they always seemed to put Chase in charge of Nanny Faye. That was like the fox watching the hen house. Together, they were bound to get in trouble. When I started to hear about their legal troubles, I was shocked but yet I wasn’t. It seems like when you have that much money, something is bound to happen. I don’t know all of the details regarding the taxes they did or didn’t pay. That’s not the intent of my post. I have actually now started to follow Savannah’s podcase on Spotify called “Unlocked with Savannah”. Listening, to her stories each week I can relate to the pain and terror that I hear in not only her voice but her mom and siblings. She has touched on some points that were brought up by family/friends as we were dealing with these same issues. It has made me feel better to know that we weren’t the other people feeling and thinking this way during this process. I don’t think anyone can comprehend the ins and outs of the legal system until you are thrown into it. Being an armchair lawyer during episodes of Law and Order isn’t real court. Before Savannah brought up this particular issue during her podcast, I picked up on it just watching and listening as it unfolded in the news. There are many things that I am seeing and hearing with their case that resonated with me. I won’t touch on all of them in this post, but I do want to talk about a main point. What’s the first thing that anyone does when they are charged with a crime? They have to hire a lawyer. The court pretty much tells you that you can’t show up to court without one. Whether they are court appointed or you paid for them yourself, you need a lawyer. I feel pretty safe to say that most of us would have no idea what to say or do inside a court room without one present. Representing yourself doesn’t seem like a wise idea either. Your lawyer will advise you on certain things to do or not to do. One of the first things they are going to tell you to do is not talk about the case with others, and they will also eventually tell you if they feel it’s a good idea or not to testify on your own behalf. What’s happened to Todd and Julie is something that came up in my case as well and that is the fact that apparently their silence has been looked at by the court as being “entitled” or “being arrogant to the facts of the case”. This then was part of the determination of how they were then sentenced. I feel that this is NOT the way that a sentencing should be determined. It should not even be part of that conversation. Don’t get me wrong, if you are someone who is in court for murdering someone and you are laughing and giving no care to human life that is entirely different. You are then a safety concern and not mentally stable. However, when you are sitting in a court room and are told by your legal counsel to do or not do certain things, you listen to them. That’s what you’re paying them for right? So, how does a judge then look at that person and during sentencing bring this up? The newspapers are sitting in the courtroom right behind the defense table. Therefore, anytime your lawyer tries to talk to you they can practically hear what’s going on. That in itself is wrong! To me that broke attorney/client privilege. During my case, my family Dr. had given me medication to settle my nerves because, well they were shot. I was either being seen as emotionless, or if I was crying it was because I was crying for myself and not what was happening. You get accused of taking your case to trial because you “feel entitled”. Todd and Julie are going through the same things. I hear things like, “the judge gave them a harsher sentence because of how nonchalant they were about the charges”. Best believe that when you are charged with a crime, you do not feel nonchalant. A lot of that is fear and just trying to hold yourself together. When I hear statements like this and know firsthand because of hearing them myself, you know that “innocent until proven guilty” doesn’t exist. It seems to me that they want everyone to come to court and throw themselves at their mercy. So, then I must ask, “Who is actually the one that feels entitled?”