Kathryn Knott Says She Should Get Out of Jail Now for Good Behavior

Kathryn Knott walks from the Criminal Justice Center Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015, in Philadelphia.

Convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott was sentenced to five to 10 months in jail on February 8th, but she could get out of jail any day now if Common Pleas Court Judge Roxanne Covington grants her request for early parole.

Center City attorney William Brennan, who began representing Knott after her 2015 conviction, has filed a motion asking that the judge release Knott immediately from Riverside Correctional Facility in Northeast Philadelphia, where she was placed in protective custody due to the international media attention that her case has received.

In the motion, Brennan argues that while Knott’s minimum release date based on the sentence is July 8th, she would have become eligible for early release on June 6th, because inmates can get credit for good behavior while in jail. According to the motion, Knott hasn’t had any behavioral issues while at Riverside, and she completed a court-ordered anger management class in April.

Included in the motion was a report prepared by a Philadelphia Department of Prisons official. The report states that Knott’s family has been visiting her and “very involved” and that Knott has been able to make contact with her boyfriend at least twice via phone. That report confirms the early release eligibility date of June 6th.

Shortly after Knott’s sentencing in February, Brennan asked Judge Covington to let her avoid jail time in favor of Knott appearing in a public service announcement. The judge said no.

Once Knott is paroled, she has two years of probation to look forward to and must pay a $2,000 fine. While on probation, she’s not allowed to leave Pennsylvania and can’t venture into Philadelphia unless on court business.

Then there are the lawsuits. Knott is listed as a codefendant on two. The first one, which seeks $5 million in damages, was filed in April by a Montgomery County woman who was behind an anti-Knott Internet account and claims that Knott was part of a conspiracy against her. And Knott’s victims in the gay-bashing case have filed a civil suit against her and the other two convicted attackers.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Covington had yet to rule on the motion, and Knott remains incarcerated.

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