JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Ronnie Simmons’ attorney, Anthony Suarez, suggested that Simmons speak out in favor of the justice system as part of his punishment.
One idea is for Simmons to do a radio tour, to help repair faith in the justice system.
“How have you explained it to your son, nephew, grandson? I’m sure they have questions,” asked Lorena Inclan.
“Guys, I don’t want to talk about it,” Simmons said.
Simmons’ attorney told the judge he’s the sole provider for his son, grandson, nephew and mom. It’s one of the main reasons he’s asking the judge for leniency in his sentence.
He expressed his remorse and apologized to not only the judge but to the people of District 5, the district former Rep. Corrine Brown once represented.
Simmons is Brown's former chief of staff. He testified against her in her federal fraud trial saying she not only knew about stealing money from her “bogus charity,” she directed him to do it.
He told the jury he’s been handing Brown blank checks that he signed in someone else’s name since 1993.
He testified he “had no idea” his then-girlfriend Carla Wiley was also stealing from One Door for Education to the tune of $140,000.
Suarez said Brown has unfairly made the justice system out to be unfair.
“That's been prevalent in this case, particularly when Corrine Brown has been going around victimizing herself and making the system as being unfair. I think that's unfair to the system because this had to be investigated, this was wrong and they have to pay the consequences, all of them,” Suarez said.
While Simmons hopes to avoid prison time, Suarez said his client is preparing for the worst.
“He's mentally ready to pay the consequences of what the court does. He's ready financially as well. He's taking care of his affairs assuming that he's going to go to jail,” Suarez said. “We're hoping for a sentence that is mixed, so it's not as long.”
Suarez also offered the court an explanation as to how his client got here, placing much of the blame on Brown.
“The explanation is in the character, the corporate culture, the way that office was run and because it was run the way it was. No one says no to Corrine Brown,” Suarez said.
Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson said the judge will consider their statements, but he believes it’s not a matter of if they’ll get prison time but how much.
“They can't very well give them a slap on the wrist and let them go home because that sends absolutely the wrong message. It sends a message that the powerful get a different type of justice than the rest of us,” Carson said.