Prosecutors recommend one month in prison, $20,000 fine for Felicity Huffman

BOSTON — Prosecutors in the case against actress Felicity Huffman have recommended a prison term of one month and a fine of $20,000 after Huffman pleaded guilty in the college admissions bribery scam.

The recommendation also asks for a full year of supervised release following the one-month incarceration stint.

The submission was made by Attorney Andrew E. Lelling on Friday, September 6. In the subsequent court documents, prosecutors explain there reasoning for the recommended punishment:

It would provide just punishment for the offense, make clear this was a real crime, causing real harm, and reinforce the vital principal that all are equally subject to the law regardless of wealth or position.

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Prosecutors go on to mention what they believe were the motivating factors behind Huffman's actions, which include paying an admissions consultant $15,000 to have a proctor correct her older daughter's answers on the SAT. Huffman pleaded guilty back in May 2019.

[Huffman's] actions weren't driven by need or desperation, but by a sense of entitlement, or at least moral cluelessness, facilitated by wealth and insularity. Millions of parents send their kids to college every year. All of them care as much as she does about their children's fortunes. But they don't fake SAT scores and joke about it.

Several people, including multiple relatives, wrote recommendation letters on Huffman's behalf to the presiding judge, Hon. Indira Talwani. Included in the 27 people who wrote on Huffman's behalf are her husband, William H. Macy, and fellow "Desperate Housewives" cast member Evan Longoria Baston.

Jessie Huffman, a niece of Felicity, penned one of those letters and told of how the elder Huffman helped influence her to become a social worker and serve her community.

She went on to add that Felicity had allowed her to live in her home when Jessie moved to Colorado.

Douglas E. Phelps, the former Head of School at Park Century School, wrote to the judge about his impressions on Huffman's relationship with her daughter's academic life. Georgia Huffman – one of Felicity's daughters – attended Park Century School through eighth grade, Phelps said.

"Felicity always struck me as a parent who did not hover or do everything that her daughter should be doing for herself," Phelps wrote, adding that Huffman was, "not a parent to do the tasks taken on by Georgia."

Another educator who wrote a letter on Huffman's behalf was Dr. Barry Munitz, who described himself as, "the former Chancellor of the California State University system."

Dr. Munitz, in his recommendation, wrote about his time spent with Huffman and her husband. He talks about Huffman and Macy's help with the two high schools housed on Cal State Los Angeles' campus, one of which, Munitz said, Huffman's daughter attended.

[Huffman and Macy] were obviously deeply concerned and generous parents not only interested in their own child's experience […] but also willing to contribute their time, funds, and network on behalf of subsequent generations of students and their families.

Two of Huffman's nephews, Buck Jones and Moore Huffman, also advocated for Felicity in their letters to Judge Talwani, sharing personal anecdotes about how Huffman helped each of them during their lives.

Jones' letter mentions how Huffman helped care for him after a car accident in his youth and after his mother – Huffman's sister – passed away in the last decade. Moore Huffman wrote of a reunion with friends that Felicity organized and hosted at her house in Los Angeles.

Another letter by a second man named Moore Huffman was also written, with the author stating that he is Felicity's brother.

Thomas Alderson – who says that Huffman's sister, Jessie, is his, "soul mate" - also wrote a recommendation. So to did Mary McCann and Neil Pepe, who are friends and colleagues of Huffman's dating back to the 1970s. All three mentioned specific times the actress helped during challenging times in their respective lives.

Cox Media Group