Carlee Russell, the Alabama woman who faked her own kidnapping last year, changed her plea to guilty on Thursday and was sentenced to 12 months on probation—a major loss for prosecutors, who were hoping she would see jail time after the shocking case.
Russell will pay about $18,000 in restitution after pleading guilty and will spend 12 months on ... [+]
Judge David Carpenter sentenced Russell to 12 months on probation and ordered her to pay restitution of $18,000, but said that placing her in jail was a waste of county resources, AL.com reported.
The 26-year-old defendant previously pleaded not guilty to charges of false reporting to law enforcement authorities and falsely reporting an incident, but Alabama Municipal Judge Brad Bishop found her guilty after a bench trial in October.
Bishop originally recommended a sentence of one year in prison, but her attorneys immediately appealed the conviction.
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