#often the bigger crime is only charged to be scary (specifically including in news articles!) and is meant to be dropped in a plea deal

[comparativelysuperlative]

Regular reminder that there is one simple trick for which news articles you can maybe trust versus probably shouldn't trust to talk about (American) criminal cases.

-Check for what they say about possible sentences. If it's "up to X years" or "maximum sentence of" or worst of all "potentially" anything, do not trust them.

-A journalist who is actually trying to inform you will instead talk about plausible sentences. Look for the phrase "sentencing guidelines," or maybe at least the word "range."

Why it works: The maximum sentence is a) catastrophically longer, so if they want to push a narrative, including the usual one that Crime Sells Papers, this one plays better, and b) Googleable. Estimating the guidelines range isn't hard but is definitely harder. Someone who's just trying to meet a deadline is likely to give in to the same temptation as someone trying to mislead you.

So this is an okay litmus test for whether a minimum of journalist effort went into saying true things because they are true. Which is a nice thing to know about the places you're getting information from.