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Thursday, May 01, 2008
Ind. Decisions - Sentence of Pendleton woman for shooting her husband to death while he slept upheld
Yesterday's COA opinion in the NFP criminal case, Kathy Jo Ward v. State of Indiana, is the subject of a story in the Anderson Herald Bulletin by Shawn McGrath. Some quotes:
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld the 30-year sentence given to a Pendleton woman for shooting her husband to death while he slept.Kathy Jo Ward was sentenced to 30 years in prison after she was convicted in June of voluntary manslaughter, a Class A felony that has a sentencing range of 20 to 50 years behind bars. The standard sentence for an A felony is 30 years. * * *
Ward, 38, appealed the sentence, however, arguing the prison term handed down by Madison Circuit Court Judge Fredrick Spencer was inappropriate because of her good character and lack of any criminal history. She argued for the minimum sentence.
In the unanimous opinion handed down by the three-judge Appeals Court panel, Ward’s argument was denied.
“In considering the nature of the offender, we note that Ward, who was 36 years old at the time of the offense, had no criminal history,” Senior Judge Betty Barteau wrote in the opinion. “She had been a productive member of society and had been employed by Sallie Mae for eight years. She had achieved an associate’s degree from Indiana Business College and was working on a bachelor’s degree at the time of the shooting. She supported her teenage son without assistance from his biological father. She expressed sincere remorse for the shooting, and she cooperated with the police during the investigation.
“If the appropriateness of a sentence (under Indiana law) was based merely on the character of the offender, we would find that the imposition of the (standard) sentence was inappropriate,” Barteau continues. “However, our evaluation also includes the nature of the offense. The shooting of a sleeping, defenseless victim warrants the sentence imposed by the trial court.”
Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 1, 2008 10:31 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions