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Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Ind. Decisions - "Thomas sentence cut to 90 years"
Bryan Corbin of the Evansville Courier& Press writes today about Monday's Court of Appeals not-for-profit opinion in the case of Nicholas D. Thomas v. State of Indiana. Some quotes:
A key figure in several recent high-profile crimes in Evansville was sentenced to one of the longest prison terms attorneys could remember for a nonhomicide crime: 140 years.Now the Indiana Court of Appeals has reduced Nicholas Dale Thomas' sentence, although he still would be his 70s by the time he is eligible for parole.
In a 14-page decision Monday, the appeals court ordered Thomas' 140-year prison term reduced to 90 years and sent the case back to Vanderburgh Superior Court for resentencing. * * *
The appeals court did not reverse Thomas' convictions. But the three-judge panel found "irregularity" in the way the sentence was calculated, the decision said.
Bowers, the trial court judge, listed six aggravating factors to justify lengthy, consecutive sentences for Thomas. The appeals court agreed with two of them: Thomas' lengthy criminal record (six prior felony convictions and seven misdemeanors) and Thomas committing the hotel invasion while out on parole.
In recalculating the sentence, the appeals court affirmed the 80 years he got for robbing and injuring Clark and for being a habitual offender. But instead of three consecutive 20-year sentences for robbing the other victims, Thomas should have received three concurrent 10-year terms, the decision said. That reduced his sentence to 90 years.
"I believe 90 is excessive, too, but that's our system," [Thomas' defense attorney, William Gooden] said. He didn't know yet if he would appeal the sentence to the Indiana Supreme Court. A message seeking comment was left for Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Stan Levco.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 4, 2006 07:48 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions