Judge Wanda K. Heard sentenced Marvin Dorsey, 23, of West Lombard Street, to life in prison for first-degree murder and 20 years in prison for use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. Judge Heard ordered that the sentences run consecutively and said that it was her hope and desire that Dorsey "never see the streets again." On January 20 a Baltimore City jury convicted Dorsey of the murder of Raymond Savoy, 16. On October 27, 2004 Dorsey shot Savoy eight times with a .45 caliber handgun in the 200 block of South Caroline Street. Asst. State's Attorney Matthew B. Fraling III prosecuted the case.
Melissa Harton got 10 years in prison for the killing of Natasha Bacchus Magee. The AP reported that she could be out on parole in as little as a year and a half.
What the ... ? A Dundalk family couple is being terrorized by a 16-year-old hoodlum/witness intimidator who, says a police dept. spokesperson, the State Juvenile Justice Department refuses to deal with.
A man in the NW was arrested for the possession of a stolen Glock 9 mm.
6 comments:
Can anyone explain to me why one would allow any possibility of parole after 1.5 years for a murder?
As in, let's just make it lawful, why don'tchya?
It would be 1.5 years on top of the already almost 1 year time served. This equals quarter of the sentence as is lawful on the charge, according to the article. If a jury picks manslaughter is it possible for the judge then to remove any chance of parole? I'm curious.
She was not convicted of murder, she was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. That carries a maximum penalty of 10 years, which she got. Involuntary manslaughter is not a crime of violence, and so therefore she is parole-eligible after serving 30 months. She earned 5 days "good time" credit for every month she was held in the county lock-up before trial, and she could earn as many as 10 days per month "good time" while in Jessup. Therefore, she'll be parole-eligible in less than 1.5 years, assuming she's not a behavior problem in jail.
Judges have no control over parole whatsoever; it is granted or denied by the Executive Branch, not the Judicial Branch. (The criminal sentence of Life Without Parole was specially created by statute, and can only be imposed in special circumstances involving death-eligible cases.)
OK, look, if we're gonna award 1/3 time served off as 'good time', then you should also increase the sentence by 1/3.
Ultimately, the real question becomes: does 2.5 years in jail deter people from manslaughter? It's a kinda difficult question because killing someone without intent rarely happens in a decision-making environment.
Perhaps I'm just punitive, but it seems like a light deterrent to me.
The maximum penalty for manslaughter -- ten years -- is set by the legislature. So is the list of what crimes count as "violent" (meaning you have to do half your time before being parole eligible). So is the amount of time you have to serve before being parole eligible. So write to your delegate.
It seems to me the real problem you have is that the jury only found her guilty of manslaughter. The jury was there and could listen to all the testimony and hear all the facts. So we really have no choice but to defer to them.
exactly
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