Court Case Of Tonya Harding And Nancy Kerrigan

Figure skating can be extremely competitive, especially when it comes to the two well-known skaters, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan. These two had been figure skating since a very young age, and they both were constantly progressing. However, on January 6th, 1994, Nancy Kerrigan was attacked by a baton in the back of her knee, causing her extreme pain. This attack occurred two days before the Olympic trials, which meant she may not be able to compete (Source C). Harding ended up receiving a large fine, probation, community service, and banned from skating ever again after she admitted to hindering the prosecution. The punishment towards Tonya Harding was way too harsh considering she never was proven guilty for the actual committing of the

Gillooly admitted that he was guilty of arranging the attack and Eckhart discussed planning the attack on Kerrigan. However, Shane Stant was the actual attacker in the incident. These three men received 18 months in prison. Following the verdict for these men, Tonya Harding decided to confess to hindering the prosecution. Therefore, Harding was never once found guilty in the actuality of the attack, solely her part in obstructing justice. Although she only admitted to hindering prosecution, Harding received fines, probation, community service, and banned from skating in the USFSA. Harding never finished school, never had a job, and all she ever knew was skating (Source: C). She spent her entire life progressing and working hard to become an even better figure skater. These punishments were very harsh for a competitive figure skater, where their entire life has taken place on the ice. All in all, Tonya Harding received extreme punishment considering the small part of the crime she was involved

She never paid any attention to the strangeness of her husband’s actions or the plans that were being made, since she was constantly focused on skating. However, Tonya Harding was extremely truthful when she was questioned, claiming the facts about lightly hearing of these plans and not informing anyone about them. As stated in Source C, “...and Harding ended up pleading guilty to conspiracy in relation to hindering the prosecution of the men who attacked Nancy Kerrigan.” Tonya Harding was very honest when asked about the attack and told the truth about how she obstructed justice. It would be ignorant if Harding admitted to partaking in only one part of the crime, if she was actually involved in the entire attack. In most cases, the suspect will admit to the entirety of the crime and not just one part if they were involved in all of it. The honesty of Tonya Harding when she admits to hindering the prosecution helped support that she was not guilty in the actuality of the attack. When a person is honest in court, like Tonya Harding was, it makes it easier to trust that they are speaking the truth and telling the entire