Three former Atlanta Public Schools educators received reduced sentences today. On April Fools Day, April 1, they were among 10 educators convicted of conspiracy. The trio was accused of violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in a cheating scandal that rocked the education system.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter has reduced the sentences for former regional directors Tamara Cotman, Michael Pitts and Sharon Davis-Williams because he was “not comfortable” with the sentence he had given them earlier this month, as reported to AJC.
On April 14, Potts, Williams and Pitts were sentenced three to seven years in prison to be followed by 13 years probation, more than twice what the prosecution had requested. They will now serve three years in prison and seven years probation.
“When a judge goes home and he keeps thinking over and over that something’s wrong, something is usually wrong,” Baxter said. “I want to modify the sentence so I can live with it. I”m going to put myself out to pasture in the not too distant future and I want to be out the pasture without regrets. The punishments are in line but I want them to be something I consider fair and I can deal with.”
