PREAMBLE OF MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTECING

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity (future generations), do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. (United States of America 1789 (rev.1992).

Indiana Sentencing Code: IC 35-50-6-3.1 & IC 35-50-6-4

One of Higher Dimensions focus is on Mandatory Minimum Sentencing. These are life sentences without being sentenced to life in prison. Inmates of violent crimes and who are first time felons actually do not have the opportunity to have a parole hearing based on Indiana bill#1006. Also, in place of a parole hearing this bill allows the prosecutor that put the inmate in jail to decide whether or not a Modification will be accepted. Most importantly is a person sentence life in prison has an opportunity to have a parole hearing after doing 50% or 25 years of their time. Whereas Mandatory Minimum Sentencing, you have to do 85% of the time your sentence too. The worst part about this bill 1006# is determining which range a person is charged with murder. Example George Forman’s murder. The officer was charged with second degree, instead of first-degree murder. However, an Indiana young man was at home and ended up killing the person and received 48 years. A women police officer Guyger walked in a black man’s house shot and killed him and was charged with murder three days later and a jury choose to lessor charge of manslaughter she was sentence to only 10 years with time cuts about 5 years.
A black woman in Indiana kills her boyfriend after many physical beatings and was charged with murder and sentence 45 years. Whereas a white lady beat her son to death with a shower rode and buried him in their neighborhood. She had the whole community looking for her son and was only sentence to 35 years. I could describe many cases like these. This is unjust, unbalanced and bias system. Indiana’s Mandatory Minimum Sentence makes it worse because, it does not leave room for determining the correct charges:

Facts:
Indiana Sentencing Chart
Level Sentence Range (Min.–Max.) Potential Fine
Murder 45 – 65 years* $0–$10,000
Level 1 20–40 years $0–$10,000
Level 2 10–30 years $0–$10,000
Level 3 3–16 years $0–$10,000
Eskew Apr 22, 2020
Indiana Sentencing Guidelines for Criminal Offenses – Eskew …www.eskewlaw.com › Indiana-sentencing-guidelines
According to: Eskew (2020), many states divide their murder laws into different degrees or levels for various types of homicidal conduct, such as first degree murder (premeditated murder) and second degree murder (killing without premeditation). Indiana, on the other hand, has only one murder statute. However, Indiana does have separate manslaughter laws for voluntary manslaughter (“heat of passion murder”) and involuntary manslaughter (an accidental killing). The penalties for murder in Indiana are based on the circumstances of the crime, including the age of the defendant and victim and how the victim was murdered.

Defenses to Murder Charges

Eskew continues by stating, many defenses may apply to a murder case. Some defenses, such as innocence, lead to a not guilty verdict, if believed by the court. Other defenses, including self-defense or intoxication, can be partial defenses, meaning they may only reduce the crime to manslaughter or are mitigating factors to consider at sentencing. Common murder defenses include:

• Innocence
• Lack of intent
• Lack of knowledge
• Insanity
• Intoxication
• Self-defense

In conclusion, it is unethical to be charged by the detectives and prosecutors alone or for them to distinguish murder charges. There are too many reasons that are implied such as sudden heat, stand your, ground and knowingly and intentional committing the crime of murder or not. I pose that before a person is charged that the state goes before a judge and a board to determine independent circumstances of the changes being made according to law.

Sheryl Jackson.

sources: FindLaw.com (01-20-21)