Ashley Todd agrees to deal

The McCain campaign volunteer had already confessed to making up a story about having a "B" carved in her face by an Obama-supporting mugger.

Published October 30, 2008 10:15PM (EDT)

Ashley Todd, the McCain volunteer who briefly captured headlines last week before admitting that she made up her story about an Obama-supporting mugger beating her and carving a "B" in her face, has agreed to a deal and will enter a probation program.

The Associated Press reports:

Under the agreement, her criminal record will be expunged after if she stays out of trouble and gets mental treatment on probation. Most people spend a year on probation in the program, which is for first-time, nonviolent offenders.

"Our focus was really, 'This is somebody who appeared to have some mental issues,'" said prosecutor Chris Avetta. "And we wanted to make sure she doesn't hurt herself or anybody else..."

[Todd] was charged with a misdemeanor count of making a false police report and had been jailed since Oct. 24. She underwent a court-ordered psychiatric examination and was deemed to be competent to stand trial but in need of further counseling.

The charge Todd faced carries a maximum two-year jail sentence. Assistant Police Chief Maurita Bryant said Todd must abide by the conditions of her release or risk being prosecuted on the charge.

"I think what she needed mostly was counseling," Bryant said. "The only one she actually hurt was herself, although there could have been so many other ramifications based on her actions."

You can read my post from last week with details about Todd and her claims here.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

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