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The Indiana Court of Appeals found Thursday that an Allen County judge used an inappropriate factor to add time to a murderer’s sentence in 1993 and should consider other items that might further reduce the prison term.
Jerome Reed, 42, pleaded guilty to murder in the 1992 death of Nichelle Ludy. During an argument, Ludy produced a gun and Reed attempted to take it, according to the ruling. The gun fired during the struggle, striking Ludy in the chest. Ludy fell to the ground, and Reed then shot Ludy twice more in the chest. Allen Superior Court Judge John Surbeck gave Reed a 50-year sentence in the case, which consisted of the presumptive 40-year term for murder at the time plus 10 years for Reed’s lack of remorse and because a lesser sentence would depreciate the seriousness of the crime.
The appellate court found Surbeck abused his discretion in using the latter factor to enhance the sentence and ordered him to re-sentence Reed, whose earliest possible release date now is 2016. The court also urged Surbeck to reconsider its finding on lack of remorse and consider whether Reed’s relative lack of criminal history should have been a mitigating factor.
nkelly@jg.net
