Kathryn Knott decided to roll the dice.
She lost, big time.
Knott, you might remember, was one of a group of people implicated in an attack on a gay couple on a Philadelphia street back in September 2014.
Words were exchanged. A few homophobic slurs grew into punches.
Charges were filed against Knott and two men in the group of 15 who had been out for dinner in Philly.
The two men charged took plea bargains and avoided jail time.
Knott decided to go to trial. She was acquitted of the most serious charges against her, but convicted of four misdemeanor counts, including simple assault, conspiracy to commit simple assault, and two counts of reckless endangerment.
Knott had steadfastly denied hurling any insults at the gay couple, and denied she was part of the physical attack.
A jury didn't see it that way.
Yesterday was sentencing day.
The prosecutor wanted serious jail time. Knott's attorney argued for probation. Knott herself apologized to the two victims.
Then it was left to Judge Roxanne Covington.
She sentenced Knott to five to months in jail, followed by two years of probation. And she ordered Knott taken into custody immediately.
Knott collapsed into tears at the defense table. She then hugged her mother and father, the chief of police in Chalfont, Bucks County, and was led away.
No, it does not seem fair that the two men involved in this incident are free on probation while Knott is headed to jail.
That is the risk that Kathryn Knott took when she eschewed the same deal they got and decided to go to trial.
She'll have five to 10 months to think about it, as well as the incident that led to all this, what most people have described as a nasty attack on a gay couple.
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