Earlier this week, we wrote about one of the suspects in the drive-by shooting death of East Central University baseball player and Australian nationalChristopher Lane. Chancey Luna, who was 16 at the time of Lane's murder, is asking the court to certify him as a juvenile for his first degree murderproceedings. Luna's attorneys argue that sentencing him to life in prison if he is convicted would amount to cruel and unusual punishment.Our article described how Oklahoma law determines whether a minor accused of a crime is charged as a juvenile, a youthful offender, or an adult.
Just a day after the blog post published, a surprise plea agreement led to the conviction and sentence of one of four people charged in connection withLane's murder. Michael Dewayne Jones, 19, was 17 when he was driving the vehicle used in shooting the jogger at random. Initially, Jones allegedlyconfessed to police that the killing was committed simply because the teens were "bored." Later, the story changed, and Jones said he thought the gunused to kill Lane was loaded with blanks. After his arrest, Jones was charged as a youthful offender with use of a vehicle to facilitate the dischargeof a weapon and accessory to murder after the fact. At some point during the investigation, charges against Jones were upgraded to first degreemurder. With a first degree murder trial set for April, the teen faced the possibility of life in prison without parole.
Earlier this week, Jones pleaded guilty to second degree murder as part of a negotiated plea that would allow the possibility of parole. As part ofthe plea bargain, Jones has accepted a punishment of life in prison.
Under Oklahoma law, a life sentence is calculated at 45 years for parole purposes. Because second degree murder is an 85 percent crime, the teen must servemore than all but 15 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole. In other words, Jones will not have the possibility of parole foranother 36 years.
As part of his plea agreement, Jones will not have to testify against Chancey Luna at his murder trial.
Another teen charged in the case, James Francis Edwards, Jr., had the murder charge against him dropped when he agreed to testify against his two friends.Edwards is now charged as a juvenile with being an accessory to murder after the fact. Only 15 at the time of the shooting, Edwards says that he didnot know that his companions had a gun, nor did he know they were planning to shoot anyone. He is charged with accessory after the fact for his rolein attempting to conceal the crime and the murder weapon.
Edwards is accused of giving the gun to 22-year-old Oddesse Barnes and telling him to get rid of it. Barnes has been convicted for his role as an accessoryafter the fact and is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence.
In addition to seeking certification as a juvenile for their client, Luna's attorneys are attempting to get the first degree murder charge dismissed, sayingthe teen thought the gun was loaded with blanks and that he had no intention to kill anyone. Luna's trial is set to begin next month.
