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Virginia’s former First Lady will learn her fate Friday

Posted at 5:34 PM, Feb 19, 2015
and last updated 2015-02-19 22:18:10-05

RICHMOND, Va -- Former Virginia First Lady Maureen McDonnell will find out if she has to spend time in prison, at her sentencing hearing in Richmond Federal Court.

The hearing is set to begin at 9 a.m. Friday.

The government has requested she serve 18 months in prison. That number is based on the fact Judge James Spencer went well below the sentencing guidelines for Governor Bob McDonnell.

McDonnell was sentenced to 24 months. He is expected to attend the sentencing hearing on Friday for his wife although he is not expected to speak much with the press.

In papers filed with the court, the attorneys of Mrs. McDonnell have asked that she be placed on probation and sentenced to 4,000 hours of community service. If she was to work 40 hours a week, it would take two years for her to complete that sentence.

"My mom has faced public humiliation beyond anything I could have imagined," Rachel McDonnell, her youngest daughter wrote in a letter to the judge.

"This experience has been so painful for my whole family," Cailin McDonnell, another daughter wrote.

If Maureen McDonnell is forced to serve some prison time, lawyers have requested she serve half of it at home and the other half in a facility.

CBS 6 will have team coverage of the sentencing. You can watch online and on-air for up-to-the-minute coverage and analysis.

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