Felicity Huffman was sentenced on Friday in a Boston Federal Court to 14 days in prison for her role in a college admissions scandal. She was sentenced after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud after paying $15,000 to have her daughter’s SAT score boosted.
Prosecutors asked for one month in prison and a fine of $20,000, but U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani sentenced Huffman to 14 days in prison, followed by a year of probation, 250 hours of community service, and a $30,000 fine.
Huffman’s husband, actor William H. Macy, and other members of her family, including her siblings, attended the sentencing. And before the sentencing, Huffman read a prepared apology to the judge, her husband and children.
“I am deeply ashamed of what I have done,” part of Felicity Huffman’s apology read. “At the end of the day, I had a choice to make. I could have said ‘no.'”
Huffman’s apology in court came after she explained in a letter to the judge that she became involved in the scam due to “desperation to be a good mom” to her daughter.
Judge Indira Talwani said that Huffman’s action was not an “an impulsive act,” and that she knew exactly what she was doing. After delivering her decision, Judge Talwani said her sentence was “right” and that Huffman could “move forward” with her life after serving her sentence.
Huffman broke down in tears after the judge delivered the sentence. She is expected to report to prison by October 25 to serve her sentence, according to CNN
Huffman is only one of several people, including celebrity parents Lori Loughlin and her husband, test administrators, and other accomplices, who have been charged in the college admissions scandals.
The scandal involved people bribing to have test scores boosted and bribing college coaches so that their children were able to gain admission to the colleges of their choice.
Ahead of the sentencing, Huffman’s husband William H. Macy submitted a letter to the judge. Other family members also submitted letters to the judge, asking for leniency. Celebrities including Huffman’s former Desperate Housewives co-star Eva Longoria also wrote letters pleading for leniency.
Twitter reacts to Felicity Huffman’s prison sentence
People have been reacting to the judgment on Twitter. Most reactions used sarcasm to express disapproval of what they considered “unfairness of the justice system” and disparities in sentencing between poor and rich people.
A man spent 36 years in prison for stealing $50 from a bakery.
Felicity Huffman got 14 days. https://t.co/G5JwQiv1UO via @ABC
— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) September 13, 2019
When Tanya McDowell gets 12 years in jail for sending her kid to school in a different district, but Felicity Huffman gets 2 weeks for pulling off a major fraud, it's crystal clear proof that the criminal justice system is OWNED by #WhitePrivilege. https://t.co/H4lP3JeVwf
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) September 13, 2019
Are we thinking that two weeks in prison will be a life altering experience?! ? If we’re trying to create prescedent – let’s make the examples count and are fair all around. ⚖️
#felicityhuffman pic.twitter.com/pYKdJ1wQ6M— VTartak (@VTartak) September 14, 2019
Can’t wait to see the new #Mossimo line of jumpsuits being designed for #LoriLoughlin and #FelicityHuffman. I hear that he’s paying the federal selection committee $500K to ensure they pass the quality control and prison standards test so “his girls” get preferential treatment. pic.twitter.com/dmmiHfcUeu
— Opinions&Oenophilia (@Ooenophilia) September 14, 2019
Then there’s this #WhitePrivilege #FelicityHuffman pic.twitter.com/xrsTY0P8ed
— Sorryto Thisman?????? (@yyz_one) September 13, 2019
Anyoneother than a privileged white woman or of lower financial class would have had the book thrown at them.#FelicityHuffman
— [email protected] (@lisafuller162g1) September 14, 2019
Felicity Huffman will spend 14 days in prison for the college admissions scandal
That's 14 more days than illegal aliens will serve for crossing our border if a Democrat is elected
Cheating to get into college shouldn't be more of a crime than cheating to get into America
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 14, 2019
If Felicity Huffman only got a 14 day sentence, I'm waiting to see what Lori Loughlin gets ?⚖️ #CollegeCheatingScandal pic.twitter.com/3BeMBr7zps
— Highly Favored ???♿ (@tokingblackgirl) September 14, 2019
White privilege was on 10 this week. From Ohio baby killer getting probation to Felicity college scammer Huffman getting 14 days in jail! #WhitePrivilege #FelicityHuffman
— Tahlia (@signsandwander) September 14, 2019
Dear Felicity, Now would be a good time to acknowledge how much you benefit from your status and how it should be a sentencing wake up call #collegeadmissionsscandal #FelicityHuffman @MarshallProj https://t.co/F6u3vZU3CU
— I see what you did there (@Pat_Lewis360) September 14, 2019
Many Twitter users also compared Huffman’s light sentence to the case involving Tanya McDowell, a homeless African American woman from Bridgeport, Connecticut. Tanya was sentenced to five years in prison in 2012 after she tried to get her child into a better school in Norwalk outside her actual home district in Bridgeport, Connecticut.