How long was Anna Stubblefield’s prison sentence and how much time did she actually serve?

The Netflix documentary Tell them you love me tells the story of former professor Anna Stubblefield and her complicated prison sentence for starting a sexual relationship with Derrick Johnson, a non-speaking person with cerebral palsy. They met in 2009 when Derrick’s older brother John learned about AAC. Anna became Derrick’s communicator, which led to a sexual relationship that Derek could not fully consent to.

While the Netflix true crime documentary Although the documentary focuses on the story between Anna and Derrick from the beginning, it only briefly mentions how much time Stubblefield actually served. The time Anna served is significantly shorter than the original sentenceonly a fraction of it. Anna has built a new life for herself since her release, but that doesn’t change the fact that the actual sentencing shows the damage she has done to Derrick and his family. The documentary builds on the sentencing, and it’s all the more satisfying when the judge sends her to prison.

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Anna Stubblefield was sentenced to 12 years in prison for serious sexual assault

In addition to life probation

The jury ultimately concluded Anna Stubblefield guilty of first degree aggravated sexual assaultand the judge sentenced her to 12 years in prison. Before her sentencing, John read a powerful letter that addressed the damage Anna had caused from a personal perspective. The judge then read a letter from Anna’s now ex-husband. The letters John and the judge read before the official sentencing described the tragic damage Anna had caused, with the documentary not shying away from portraying Anna and Derrick’s abusive relationship from start to finish. Focusing on the two letters before the judge’s sentencing touches the audience more deeply.

I don’t think Anna understood how much pain she had caused my family. She tried to claim him and rename him. She tried to displace Derrick’s life, a life deeply rooted in the history and culture of his God-fearing, Southern-rooted African-American family.

– Excerpt from John Johnson’s letter

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Why Anna Stubblefield was released from prison after only 2 years

A judgment overturned

Shockingly, Anna Stubblefield only served two of her twelve years in prison. escape a further ten-year prison sentence due to a formality. A three-judge panel overturned her conviction after finding that omitting AAC as a defense violated her rights. AAC is widely unacceptable; organizations from the American Psychological Association to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association condemn the practice. Prosecutors also refuted during the trial that AAC is a permissible method. Because Anna had already served two years, she accepted a plea deal with a lesser charge and was released.

Anna Stubblefield’s lesser charge exists only because The three-judge panel found her trial unfair. If the first judge had allowed facilitated communication as a means of defense, The jury would still have convicted Anna of first-degree sexual assault. Her sentence of 12 years in prison would likely have remained the same. Anna’s release from prison after just 2 years was understandably upsetting for victims of sexual violence. The three-judge panel may have felt that Anna’s trial was unfair, and that may be true, but it is also unfair that she never served her original sentence despite being convicted of the heinous crime.

Anna is now out of prison and living in obscurity, working from home. It is unclear where she is now, but she still firmly believes that she did not speak for Derrick and that their relationship was completely consensual. Tell them you love me raises the fundamental question of how Formalities in the justice system can lead to guilty parties getting away with violent crimes.