Masterson, 47, was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo on Thursday despite the pleas from his “That ’70s Show” co-stars Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, among others.
“I do not believe he is an ongoing harm to society and having his daughter raised without a present father would [be] a tertiary injustice in and of itself,” Kutcher wrote in his letter, which was published first by reporter Meghann Cuniff.
The letters in support of defendants by their family and supporters are routine in criminal cases before sentencing. In Masterson’s case, they came as part of a 108-page filing reviewed by The Times. Neither Kunis nor Kutcher argued that Masterson was not guilty of the crimes, but they vouched for his character and the person they knew him to be.
“From the very beginning, I could sense his innate goodness and genuine nature,” Kunis said in her letter. “His caring nature and ability to offer guidance have been instrumental in my growth both personally and professionally.”
In Kutcher’s letter, he noted a time when he said Masterson jumped to the defense of a woman whose boyfriend was berating her at a pizza restaurant.
“It was an incident he didn’t have to get involved in but proactively chose to because the way this man was behaving was not right,” Kutcher wrote.
Both actors said Masterson’s anti-drug attitude helped them to stay on the straight and narrow during their careers in Hollywood.
The person who committed these crimes and the person who his friends describe cannot coexist. One is a fraud, an image he means to project. It’s not hard to figure out which is which..
Of course you don’t want to admit to yourself or others that this person you care about is a monster. I feel bad for his friends and family, and of course the victims.