Vol 7, No. 1 (Summer, 2006)

Stephanie Mohr Still in Prison

Former Prince George’s County (Maryland) Officer Stephanie Mohr has been waiting for almost two years for the trial court judge to rule on her petition to set aside her conviction and sentence of 10 years imposed in December 2001.

In September 1995, Officer Mohr released her police dog, Valk, according to regulations, to stop Ricardo Mendez, a suspect in a robbery, from fleeing. She was convicted of one count of depriving Mendez of his rights under color of law.

The petition for a new trial is based on ineffective assistance of counsel and on the 2004 Supreme Court decision that the federal sentencing guidelines were unconstitutional.

When the judge finally rules on former Officer Mohr’s petition, we expect a new trial and at a minimum a new sentencing hearing that should reduce her sentence substantially. She has been incarcerated since 2003 in a federal prison camp in West Virginia.