Justices trim 181-year sentence for man convicted as juvenile

The Indiana Supreme Court on Tuesday reduced the 181-year sentence for a man convicted of two murders committed when he was 16, finding his appellate counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to challenge the appropriateness of the teen’s sentence.

Donnell Dontrell Wilson’s sentence was trimmed to 100 years by the Indiana Supreme Court for his conviction of the March 2013 gang-related murders of Charles Wood and Shaqwone Ham in Gary.

After he was convicted of the killings, a Lake Superior jury sentenced Wilson to an aggregate 183 years for the murder convictions served consecutively to his armed robbery convictions and criminal gang enhancements. Two years of the sentence were reduced on direct appeal.

In the instant post-conviction relief appeal, Wilson argued that his Eighth Amendment rights were violated by and trial and appellate counsel were ineffective for failing to challenge the appropriateness of his sentence, among other things. After his petition was denied at the trial court, the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed what it considered a de facto life sentence.

Justices granted transfer and granted Wilson partial relief Tuesday in Donnell Dontrell Wilson v. State of Indiana,19S-PC-548. First, the court held Wilson’s sentence was not cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment, even under the U.S. Supreme Court holding in Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460, 479 (2012), which forbids a sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without the possibility of parole for juveniles convicted of murder.

“Looking at the information considered by the trial judge, as a whole, the sentencing court sufficiently considered Wilson’s background, environment and immaturity before determining that Wilson was sufficiently corrupted and his crimes so serious that he deserved a long term of years sentence,” Justice Mark Massa wrote.

But the court found Wilson’s appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to seek relief under Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B), and adjusted his sentence accordingly. “A 100-year sentence means that after receiving good time credit Wilson will likely be eligible for release in his mid-to-late sixties, meaning that he has reasonable hope for a life outside prison.”

Justice Geoffrey Slaughter concurred in part and dissented in part and would not have found Wilson’s appellate counsel ineffective and therefore would not have reduced Wilson’s sentence.