May I?
If....you son has had ANY past maladies which are considered emotional, such as ADHD, PTSD that you insist that your lawyer make an issue of it.
THE American with Disabilities Act helps protect people with disabilities yet is totally ignored in the court system.
INSIST.....INSIST that it be brought to the forefront if it applies.
It may help lower the punishment.

They are character letters. You cannot mention their crime or what you think they should get as a sentence or not get as a sentence. My family just wrote the good my son has done over the years, what he excelled in and what they mean to him. It was mostly family that wrote letters with the exception of a couple of family friends and only one friend of his (and he thought he had tons) wrote a letter for him. I sent everyone a template of how the letter should be addressed (it is specific) and written and closure on it. Look up examples on the internet and attach them to give people an idea of what to say and how to say it. I myself would not of known how the letter should go if I didn't read up on it. The lawyers should give people examples but ours did not.

Debbie with respect. They are ignored. Wallpaper such as certificates of merit are ignored.
I live in NJ and know. It's all about how much money you have to dole out. Once the Prosecutor thinks he has the upper hand...nothing but money will change his mind. The more you pay your Attorney...the lighter the sentence.
Yeah Im cynical. I don't trust our judicial system at all anymore.
But I know from my own history...thats how things work here.

I disagree that they are ignored. In my case I had 32 letters sent in and the judge during his time to speak mentioned parts of several of them, direct quotes. My Dad and one of my Pastors from my church testified as witnesses...I was completely bawling as my Dad spoke...I could see the judge and the prosecutor looking at me out of the corner of my eye lol. Letters from family, friends, pastors/priests do help, but it's the ones from neighbors that we believe also help the most. We had a couple neighbors send ones in, and I am forever in their debt.

I also agree with cmckee, the judge mentioned how he read all the letters, there was 20 of them I believe. AND we paid plenty to our high profile lawyers and my son got 25 years for his federal case, non-contact. I think our lawyers were a total waste of money. He could of gotten the same sentence I believe without them.
But thumper - you are right about our judicial/prison system - it sucks!

To quote someone else, "There is no justice. There is just us!"

I understand your reluctance thumper. But I see it as a low risk higher reward proposition. If the judge isn't influenced by it what have you lost? On the other hand if the judge is influenced by it you've gained something significant, in Debbie's son 'a scenario , 5 years of his life.

I say take the opportunity to write to the judge, it may or may not influence the judge, but it won't hurt your son's cause.
Our judge disregarded our letters, but I have heard of other judges that took the character letters into Concideration.

We just went through the same thing (with a lesser sentence though). My husband's lawyer said that we can send in letters about my husband's character. He specifically said don't let people write things about his crime and how he'd never do something like that or it was a mistake/misunderstanding. The letters have to be strictly about his character. The lawyer also said that letters from family are weighed less than letters from friends, co workers, neighbors, etc. If you feel you can trust your pastor I would get a letter from him. If he says anything negative then he's not a man of God and you should probably find another church. My husband took a plea deal for 5 years, but the judge decided (even without the letters) that it wouldn't benefit anyone for him to serve 5 years so he gave him a 3 year sentence. The judge said that he looked into his past and couldn't even find a parking ticket and he thinks that doing 3 years and having to deal with the reproductions of Megan's law is going to set him straight. It really all depends on the judge.

Unfortunately when it comes to NJ, thumperjoe is right. We were fortunate enough to get the judge in a good mood...and I also think the judge really didn't like the prosecutor (he was late to every court hearing we had and the judge yelled at him every time). We were blessed in that respect but most of the time that's not the case.

Good luck and I would say have the letters sent. They can't do any harm, they will either be ignored or taken into consideration.

It does depend on the judge, especially if the judge is a woman! I do not think that women judges should rule in any type of sex offense. They are too emotional and take it to heart! My son's judge was a women and she hated my son, even knowing he had some mental problems. This judge walked into the courthouse with her two small daughters. Get the picture? When she revoked my son's probation, I just burst into tears and she told me to get out of her courtroom. Good luck and hopefully your judge is not a woman.

Heartbroken. Im cynical so take my advice as such. But you're exactly right about the mental problems issue.
The American with Disability Act recognizes most disabilities. The Court system ignores them.
Parole and Probation ignore them. DOC ignores them for the most part.
My son was incarcerated for 2+ years without his ADHD medication. Upon release and within 6 months they violated him for not understanding his parole conditions.
I dont understand his parole conditions and Im not ADHD.
My son was NOT on nighttime restrictions. He was violated for staying overnight at his GF's house. She was an RN and worked 3-11 PM. He would go over there while the children were in bed and leave before the children woke. According to NJSPB that was a violation of his parole. He was home here every day for at least 8 hours. Their arguement was that at some point his GF would have to go to the bathroom and therefore expose the children as unsupervised during that time period.
Guess what? They got away with it. He's bac k in jail for a year.

He should have said he went to the bathroom with her, the they couldn't violate him....lol

Here's part of an instruction letter I send out to clients' friends and family. However, live testimony from Mom, Dad, Wife can be quite powerful.

The letters should be in the words of the letter writer, typed, should be concise, and should be genuine. There should be no orchestrated letter-writing campaign: instead, individuals who strongly feel they have relevant information for the Judge should be given a copy of these instructions to assist in expressing those views. Writers should refrain from including their address and telephone number on the letter as it will need to be redacted.
 
What follows are some suggestions that letter writers may wish to incorporate:

1. State your present or former position, e.g., I am/was the Pastor of the XYZ church.

2. Describe your relationship with the defendant including the nature and the length of the relationship, and how you met.

3. Describe the good that the defendant has done in charitable, educational, civic or business activities. Particular experiences that the writer has had with the defendant and which demonstrate the defendant's human virtues would be helpful. An anecdote—an act of charity, or a particular kindness—briefly stated may be worth far more than merely describing you in abstract terms as “decent.” Do not be general or vague.

Of course, the suggestions above are not all inclusive, and some letter writers may not be in a position to make statements based on their experience about all areas described above. What is important is that the letters be genuine and reflect the deeply-held beliefs of the letter writer.

Additionally, letter writers should NOT:

1. Question the defendant's guilt.

2. Comment on the evidence in the case.

3. Suggest a particular sentence.

4. Express personal views on the criminal justice system.

5. Use the words “lenient” or “leniency” in requesting a particular sentence by the judge. Again, do NOT request a particular sentence. That's the attorney's job.

Contacting the judge must be done through a lawyer. If not then you must also send a copy to the prosecutor or it's considered EX_PARTE' communication and disallowed and ignored.

Sorry but thats the law and procedure.

My son's lawyer sent a template to give to anyone who wanted to write a letter. Unfortunately, I am the only one who wrote, his brothers said they couldn't. they were both too angry with him, and all my sons "friends" disappeared when he got sick (he has marfans and emphysema).
The letter wrote was ignored, my son got 10 years for 1 count.
I wish you luck. I agree with both thumperjoe and coolrich