BSV Forum - Writing - Canon

Faith in Jail, Part II

Feb 27 2007 04:26 pm   #1Verity Watson
Okay, so we all know that Faith went to prison after confessing to the murder of Finch, partially to escape the Council, but mostly to atone, right?

But Faith went to an adult correctional facility, even though she confessed to a crime that was a) an accident, not pre-meditated and b) took place when she was - 16? Was she even 18 when she confessed?

Any Law & Order junkies out there? I need to get Faith out of prison for the next part of a story, and I can't figure how!
You know I've been a good girl, but I hit a limit. ~ Poe
Feb 27 2007 05:07 pm   #2Eowyn315

Well, Finch was an accident, yes, but she also killed a bunch of people after that. That volcanologist, at least, was premeditated. I'd wager she killed more people, either while working for the Mayor or after she woke up from the coma. Wasn't she in custody at one point? That'd be assaulting a police officer. And she probably left a trail of bloody beaten (if not dead) bodies on the way from Sunnydale to L.A. 

So it's possible that, even though she was a minor, the extent and serious nature of her crimes would get her tried as an adult, which would get her sent to an adult facility.

Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Feb 27 2007 07:03 pm   #3maryperk

Wikapedia has Faith bday as Dec 14, 1980.   That would have made her 17 when she killed Finch and 18 and older when she killed in L.A. 

Feb 27 2007 08:35 pm   #4Verity Watson
Huh.

Eowyn, I forgot about all the killings for the Mayor. Of course she did. And MaryPerk, you're quite right. I looked right past Faith's DOB without doing the math.

Rats. Maybe she just gets paroled ... off to rewrite, but not without a great big THANK YOU to you both!
You know I've been a good girl, but I hit a limit. ~ Poe
Feb 27 2007 09:14 pm   #5Eowyn315

She mentions her sentence is "25 to life" - not sure what the deal is with parole on that. You could always bust her out. :) Or, if you want her out legally... maybe the Council pulls some strings, because they want her slaying? Not sure how that works with your story...

Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Feb 27 2007 11:39 pm   #6Spikez_tart

At 17, Faith could have been tried and convicted as an adult.  Given the severity of her crimes, it's unlikely that she would have gotten off as a minor.  Also unlikely that Arnold would have pardoned her and I doubt the parole board would be in a great hurry to let her out after assaulting a cop, assaulting Joyce, various murders, maximum property damage and at least a couple of fights while in the slam.  You'd better just bust her out or use magic. 

If we want her to be exactly she'll never be exactly I know the only really real Buffy is really Buffy and she's gone' who?
Feb 28 2007 02:59 am   #7Caro Mio

If she had a stipulation of a possibility for parole with good behavior, she could get out early, but not canon-time early, with a 25 year sentence. For every day you're a good inmate, you earn a day off your sentence if you have the possiblity of parole.

Your best bet is to have the Coucil pull strings, or W & H to pull strings, to be most believable.

We do have to remember that she was wanted by the Council only, until she confessed at the police station. There was no proof that she had done either murder in Sunnydale, as the Mayor wouldn't have allowed that. After the body switch, Faith was a scared and troubled girl, and I have the feeling she laid low until W&H recruited her to go after Angel. Maybe a couple bar fights, but that would have been it. Since there was nothing to connect her specifically to the vulcanologist in Sunnydale, the cops had an unsolved murder until she confessed. Confessing and pleading guilty goes a long way in court towards getting you a more lenient deal. Less work for the Prosecutor's office, etc.

The Council wanted to pick her up and handle it in house, since she's a Slayer, so the law wouldn't have been involved to begin with. Going to prison was the easiest way for Faith to avoid the Council, protect others from herself, and atone for her guilt. Angel's visits made that a lot easier to live with, too.

Obviously, Wes was able to get her out of the facility fairly easily, so someone else with the same know-how could do the same thing.

What If I'm Not the Slayer? now updated with chapters 22 and 23.
Mar 01 2007 04:18 am   #8Scarlet Ibis

Not sure what's going on in your fic, but if there's... "something worth fighting for" I suppose, Faith could always bust herself out like she did in that eppy to stop Angelus.  As she explained to Spike "I kept me in prison," or something of the sort.

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
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