MOBILE, Alabama – Michael Lee Smith stood before a judge Thursday a guilty man.

It was a familiar spot.

The 54-year-old Prichard man, in fact, had 23 previous convictions and a slew of other arrests when he admitted guilt last week to four more felonies – a quartet of third-degree burglary charges.

Based on Smith’s prior record, Mobile County Assistant District Attorney Matt Simpson on Thursday sought a life prison sentence. Circuit Judge Robert Smith rejected that, opting instead for a 20-year prison term with all but five years suspended. That term will begin sometime next year after Smith finishes the rest of his sentence on a previous charge for which the judge revoked probation.

Then, Smith will go back on probation for another five years.

Simpson was philosophical after the hearing.

“The sentence is up to the judge. That’s what he’s there for,” he said.

Simpson’s boss, Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich, took a harder line.

“We’re frustrated by the sentence,” she said.

Defense attorney Steve Dugan said in an interview that he sympathizes with the victims but added that there was no violence associated with the offenses and argued his client does not deserve to be imprisoned for the rest of his life. He said Smith’s record stems from a persistent drug addiction that he has been unable to kick.

“I don’t believe in giving up on people, because I don’t want them to give up on me. I don’t believe in throwing people away,” he said. “When you have an addiction, it’s something that runs your life.”

Dugan said his client told his probation officer that he needed drug treatment and even agreed to go to Mobile County Metro Jail to get it. But there was some problem with arranging the treatment, he said.

Dugan said he hopes his client will use his time in prison to finally get the help he needs.

“Maybe for the first time, he will have a chance to live life without being drug down by drug addiction,” he said. “God still might have a plan for this man’s life.”

Simpson said Smith has had plenty of chances for drug rehabilitation. And he said that in addition to the robberies on the defendant’s records, the state considers burglaries to be violent crimes.

“We think he’s a violent criminal,” he said.

Smith’s latest offenses involve break-ins last year of MARC Enterprises on Congress Street in Mobile, G.K. Services on St. Louis Street and the Dearborn YMCA – on two separate occasions. During those burglaries, Smith stole checks and cash, and raided vending machines.

Simpson said he does not recall ever prosecuting a defendant with as many felonies. Rich said the rap sheet is extensive but not a record.

“We’re seeing it more and more,” she said, attributing the increase to an overcrowded prison system that turns multiple-repeat offenders loose after serving a tiny sliver of their sentences. “He’s not going to serve a lot of time on this one, either.”