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Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Ind. Decisions - "Appeal, sentence reduction denied in Grayson murder case"
Reporting on yesterday's COA's decision in the case of Robert Schutz v. State of Indiana (NFP), Sophia Voravong of the Lafayette Journal & Courier writes today:
In a nine-page opinion issued Tuesday, a panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected Robert J. Schutz's claim that a trial court committed double jeopardy by sentencing him to murder and criminal deviate conduct based on the same evidence.The panel also denied Schutz's argument that his sentence be reduced from 110 years to 92 years and that the sentence was inappropriate, based on the homeless man's character and the crime itself.
The 29-year-old -- who was homeless -- pleaded guilty but mentally ill in February 2006 to murder and an elevated Class A felony charge of criminal deviate conduct. * * *
"The State recognized that Schutz received a traumatic brain injury when he was seventeen. ..." Judge James Kirsch wrote in Tuesday's opinion.
"However, the State recognized that this brain injury did not diminish Schutz's ability to understand his actions."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 29, 2007 10:31 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions