After five months and four days in Riverside Correctional Facility, Kathryn Knott is a free woman.
At a hearing Tuesday, Common Pleas Judge Roxanne Covington granted Knott’s petition for parole.
Knott left the Criminal Justice Center early Tuesday afternoon with her parents and attorney, Bill Brennan, who gave a short statement to reporters saying Knott earned release after fulfilling the requirements of her prison sentence.
Knott was one of three people, along with Philip Williams and Kevin Harrigan, arrested in connection with a September 2014 attack on gay couple Zachary Hesse and Andrew Haught. Williams and Harrigan took plea deals in exchange for probation and community service, but Knott took her case to trial, where a jury found her guilt of four misdemeanors in December.
Brennan filed a parole petition last week, requesting she be released at her minimum date, July 8; she was sentenced to five to 10 months in prison Feb. 8.
In a brief address to the judge Tuesday, Brennan described Knott as an “exemplary inmate,” saying she carried out her duties of cleaning toilets, completed the requisite anger-manangement classes that were part of her sentence in a timely fashion and had no infractions. Brennan noted that Knott did not appeal her sentence, which he said is indicative of her accepting responsibility.
“She could have filed an appeal but she elected not to,” Brennan told the judge. “That speaks volumes to her sincerity. She did her sentence in a low-key, no write-up fashion.”
The District Attorney’s Office did not object to Knott’s release. A representative of the office said the victims were consulted and also did not object.
When Covington told Knott that she would grant what “was requested and required,” and “order you released from here today,” Knott’s parents had a visible reaction. The judge outlined the other terms of her sentence. She must pay a $2,000 fine and serve two years of reporting probation. The probation can be transferred from Philadelphia to Bucks County, where Knott lives; once it’s transferred, Knott won’t be permitted to leave the county without court permission. She will be prohibited from entering Philadelphia unless on court business and also cannot leave the state without permission.
A stay-away order has also been issued to prohibit contact between Knott and the victims and their families.
Knott was led back into a hallway by a sheriff to complete her release paperwork.
In a statement released after the proceeding, District Attorney Seth Williams acknowledged that “no amount of punishment or jail time can make what happened in Center City Philadelphia go away for the victims in this case, the LGBT community and the city of Philadelphia. But I also know that there is no legal proceeding that will bring fundamental equality and respect to all of our citizens, regardless of their race, gender, economic status or sexual orientation.”
“Was what Kathryn Knott and her fellow defendants did ugly and deplorable? Yes, it was,” Williams continued. “Do we need to keep fighting for equality and respect? Yes, we do. So, let’s use today’s proceedings as an opportunity to keep pushing forward and to make our neighborhoods and city a better place to live, love and work.”
Now that she is free, Knott is also facing two separate lawsuits: a civil suit from the victims and a federal suit from a Norristown woman who is seeking $5 million after being fired from her job after posting comments about the case online under the name “Knotty is a Tramp.”
