:53:00
Thank you, Mr. Hampton Ward.
:53:05
Prisoner at the bar, please rise.
:53:14
Prisoner at the bar,
you stand convicted of felony.
:53:17
Have you anything to say
:53:19
why the court should not give you
judgment according to law?
:53:23
No.
:53:25
Please remain standing.
:53:38
Vera Rose Drake,
:53:40
you have committeda crime, the gravity of which
:53:43
cannot be overestimated.
:53:46
The law is very clear
:53:48
and you have willfully broken that law.
:53:52
And furthermore,
:53:54
in so doing,
:53:55
you have put at risk
:53:57
the life of a vulnerable young woman.
:54:00
And but for the timely intervention
:54:01
of the medical profession...
:54:03
you might have been before me
on an even more serious charge
:54:08
than the one that has brought you here today.
:54:11
Now...
:54:13
l have heard your plea of guilty,
:54:15
and I have taken that into account...
:54:18
and I have listened very carefully
:54:20
to the submissions of your council.
:54:22
But nothing has been advanced me today
:54:24
on your behalf which would persuade me
:54:27
to take any course
:54:29
other than to impose a custodial sentence.
:54:32
lndeed...
:54:34
the extreme seriousness of your crime
:54:37
is bound to be reflected
:54:39
in the sentence that I am about to pass.
:54:42
And that must serve as a deterrent to others.
:54:47
l therefore sentence you
:54:49
to a term of imprisonment,
:54:52
which will be two years and six months.
:54:56
Take her down.