MovieChat Forums > Small Sacrifices (1989) Discussion > Diane Downs's Sentencing

Diane Downs's Sentencing

posted 17 years ago by Elainethegreat25
17 replies | jump to latest

Can someone please tell me why Diane was not given a jail sentence of life, without the possibility of parole? There has been rumors that she will in fact be elgible for parole in a few years, and it seriously baffles me...is it because there just wasn't enough hard evidence, or does our legal system flat-out SUCK?? I've heard stories of people who killed others trying to protect themselves or their family, who have recieved way harsher sentencing then what Diane did. I mean, come on, she murdered one of her children and tried to kill the other two. I've seen this movie a few times and it outrages me each time I watch it!! Can someone please try to shed some light on this for me? Thank you in advance.

[–] beccatx27 17 years ago

I'm amazed. I gathered by the way the sentencing is delivered at the end of the movie that she wouldn't get out but she her first hearing is in 2009. As long as she doesn't get out I kind of like the idea of her getting her hopes up only to lose.

[–] laura_brooks83 17 years ago

Diane was eligible for parole in 2006. She goes before the Parole Review board yearly now. She is over 50 years old ( hard to believe, isn't it).
With her history of the prison escape, and 2 transfers to higher security facilities out of Oregon ( first to NJ, and is currently incarcerated in a Super Max women's prison in Chowchilla, CA).

The DA who adopted her two wounded children and the 2 detectives who were active on the case go yearly to try to keep her in prison for life.. Parole has been denied up to this point, obviously, but if she has a good enough behavior record, there is also a man and a movement to get her released. Google it.. You will find his website and counter- arguments.

One thing about it, Diane always could charm a man into doing what she wanted, so it's not guaranteed that she will stay in prison much longer. I worry for her surviving family.

[–] StaceyAdamz 17 years ago

i guess we are all watching this on lifetime, huh. i love this movie. it is just so good. farrah fawcett did an outstanding job in this movie. her true acting abilities shine through in this role. as for the real diane downs: i hope she rots in hell.

I'm not a scholar or a film critic. I'm just a chick that saw the movie and formed an opinion.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] DharmaKarma 16 years ago

I doubt she'll ever get out. She has shown no remorse or admitted guilt, which are some of the things the parole board looks for. I looked at the website that nut job started. It is full of inaccuracies and blatant lies.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] cosmic_quest 15 years ago

is it because there just wasn't enough hard evidence, or does our legal system flat-out SUCK??

Compared to the lax, pathetic British criminal justice system, the American legal system is great. If this has happened in the UK, Downs would probably have been out years ago after bleating about how her 'human' rights have been violated by jail. She would be given a new identity and thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money would be wasted on giving her a house and twenty-four hour police protection.

"I always pretend to root for Gryffindors but, secretly, I love my Slytherin boys."~ Karen, W&G

[–] thirdrow 15 years ago

The judge said he hoped that she would never again be free, and that he came as close to that as possible in sentencing. Yeah, it's hard to understand...and in real life Casey Anthony is facing the death penalty for a similar crime.

Diane was up for parole earlier in the year, and her parole hearing was broadcast(you can probably still find it on YouTube). She rambled on about various conspiracy theories, but never took any responsibility for her guilt. Of course, her request for release was denied. I don't think she will ever get out, especially since she has never expressed remorse.

[–] Alfonso23 15 years ago

Here's the latest on her parole hearing. She is as whacky today as she was a quarter century ago:http://www.kval.com/home/video/35829914.html?video=pop&t=a

[–] Kram99 15 years ago

^^ That video is hilarious.

[–] denise1234 14 years ago

@Alfonson23:

Thanks for providing that link.

Good Lord -- did THAT (in the video) make any sense to anyone?

"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than..a rude remark or a vulgar action" Blanche DuBois

[–] horrorfanaticgirl 13 years ago

Wow, watching that video, she is beyond crazy. I really hope she never, ever gets released. I don't understand with the sentencing, it doesn't make sense that she is up for parole, even if she never gets it, doesn't make sense she'd ever have the chance in the first place.

[–] fiatlux-1 9 years ago

Wow, that video makes NO sense!
She is as nutty as a sack of cats.

I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

[–] sudderth1027 11 years ago

I know it's been four years since you wrote your comment on the movie about Diane Downs, Small Sacrifices, but I thought you, and others, might be interested in an update about her and her opportunity for parole. On December 10, 2010, KATU.com reported,

"SALEM, Ore. - The Oregon Parole Board rejected a plea from convicted child killer Diane Downs for parole.

"Downs will not be eligible for parole for another 10 years under a new Oregon law, although she could ask the board to reconsider in two years, according to the parole board's executive director."

It looks like it will be a long, long time, if ever, before she gets out of prison. She is still maintaining her innocence.

[–] JustDimmy 14 years ago

Well done, spoiler in title...

[–] fiatlux-1 14 years ago

I'm confused. At the end of the version of the movie I saw, for one of her offenses she was sentenced to 'life plus 15 years minimum'.So how does she qualify for parole?

"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

[–] denise1234 14 years ago

fiatlux-1^

This is what I found on a crime website at http://cmm.lefora.com/2008/11/16/diane-downs-parole-eligibility/:

"...She is serving a sentence of life in prison plus 50 years with a 25 year minimum. However, more time was tacked onto her sentence after her escape from prison in 1987, extending her sentence to life in prison plus 65 years.
Downs' sentence made her eligible for parole consideration after serving 25 years, and under Oregon law as a dangerous offender, she will be eligible for a parole consideration hearing every two years until she is released or dies in prison....'

"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than..a rude remark or a vulgar action" Blanche DuBois