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GREENSBORO - In February, Lorenzo Andrews begged a Guilford County judge to grant him leniency in a series of armed robberies and a kidnapping.

"I'm not a bad person," the then 17-year-old Andrews wrote in spindly letters that filled the blue-lined school notebook paper. "I just was in a bad situation and took the wrong path. ... Just allow me the chance to make things right."

Andrews received a minimum of at least 10 years in prison.

Last Tuesday, Sidney Lowe II, 23, the son of N.C. State's men's basketball coach Sidney Lowe, also stood before a Guilford County judge, pleading for leniency in a series of armed robbery charges and kidnapping.

"I can be somebody great," he said. "I will be somebody great."

Lowe received 15 months in the minimal-security Guilford County prison farm. Judge Henry Frye Jr. suspended the rest of an 11-year sentence.

Both Andrews and Lowe went into court with no prior criminal record, court records show. They faced similar charges that, by state law, require a minimum sentence of more than three years in prison.

A judge has leeway in how much more time to give, but the minimum is set - usually.

The law, however, does allow for a little-known - and rarely used - exception that lets the judge go outside the boundaries. That exception, called extraordinary mitigation, allows defense attorneys to show circumstances warrant a lighter minimum sentence.

The threshold is high, and defense attorneys rarely use it.

Joe Cheshire, a high-powered defense attorney who defended the Duke University lacrosse players and helped represent Lowe, says Lowe's case was his first attempt at extraordinary mitigation.

Locke Clifford, a well-known Greensboro defense attorney who also defended Lowe, says he has used the strategy a few times - and has been successful just once in his 41-year career.

In Guilford County, prosecutors recall defense attorneys attempting the sentencing strategy for a handful of cases since structured sentencing began in 1993. But there are no official statistics.

Many attorneys probably don't realize extraordinary mitigation is an option, said Edwin West III, a Wilmington attorney.

"I don't think it's something that it's going to be used all the time," West said. "But there are just certain cases where it cries out for it."

West has successfully argued extraordinary mitigation, including a murder case where his client helped investigators with several other cases.

When it comes to considering any sentence, judges look at various factors, including whether defendants cooperate with an investigation, how early they admit guilt and if they accept responsibility. Other factors include a defendant's age and immaturity at the time of the crime, and family and community support.

"I don't think you can just go in and say: 'Hey, I accept responsibility. Give me extraordinary mitigation,'" West said.

In several recent Guilford County armed robbery cases, most defendants logged two or three mitigating factors. That allowed the judge to sentence them at the low end of the scale, but those factors weren't enough to convince a judge to go below the minimum.

Randell Chatman, 22, of Greensboro admitted early on his role in a November store robbery at knife point that netted $95, court records show. He also accepted responsibility and has support in the community, factors that led Superior Court Judge Catherine Eagles to sentence Chatman in May to more than three years in prison.

Neighbors and teachers described Devin Henryhand, 16, as quiet and respectable in several letters submitted before his sentencing in February for an armed robbery in November.

Mitigating factors cited in his court record: his age and immaturity, he accepted responsibility and he admitted early on his role in the crime.

Superior Court Judge Richard Stone sentenced Henryhand to three and a half years in prison.

"I think these kids, they need a chance," said Ronda Henryhand, 26, Henryhand's older sister. But low-income children find themselves more easily thrown in jail, she said.

"I had no way to fight for my baby," said Devin Henryhand's mother, Maychilds Henryhand.

And letters of support didn't help her son like they did Lowe's son, she said.

"It's just not fair."

In Lowe's case, Frye cited several reasons he believed extraordinary mitigation was warranted. Among them:

•  Lowe admitted to bringing a gun to the home invasion. Investigators originally had believed it was co-defendant Brian Martin. Martin is expected to be sentenced next week;
•  Lowe has the support of his church community;
•  He has support of his family and friends. His father told the judge Lowe would have a curfew, as he has had since he was released on a $450,000 bond pending trial.
•  He was under the influence of marijuana and Ecstasy, which changed his behavior, according to testimony.
•  He lacked coping skills, was immature and reacted poorly to peer pressure.

Frye conceded at the sentencing that he'd likely face criticism for his decision but noted that he had to do what he felt was just.

"I think that Judge Frye was in a very difficult position," West said. "And whatever decision he made was going to be criticized."

Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer. fernandez@news-record.com