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Despite a jury verdict to the contrary, more than a dozen Warsaw citizens have sent letters petitioning Judge Rex Reed, Kosciusko Circuit Court, to give Jason Davidson, 34, the lightest possible sentence. According to the letters, Davidson is not guilty of pre-meditated murder and most believe that voluntary manslaughter or reckless homicide would have been more appropriate verdicts.
Davidson was found guilty Sept. 9 of the May 2, 2002, murder of Samuel Creekmore. He will be sentenced at 1 p.m. tomorrow.
"Reckless homicide is the only verdict that made sense to me," one Warsaw woman wrote to Judge Reed. "Sam is dead. What a tragedy. And Jason will forever have to live with the fact that his reckless handling of a gun is responsible."
That same woman also shared with Judge Reed her personal experiences with Ambien.
Ambien is the prescription sleep medication Davidson's defense attributed to his disinhibition the night of Creekmore's shooting death. According to defense witnesses, Ambien is a hypnotic sedative that causes short-term memory loss if taken without sleeping. Ambien also can cause disinhibition, aggression and other adverse effects associated with the frontal brain lobes.
The woman wrote that while on Ambien, she also lost all inhibitions and acted out of character. She often had no memory of what she had done and only knew about her drug-induced actions when she saw evidence of them in the morning, or was informed of her "loopy" behavior by her family.
"Premeditated murder is too harsh a sentence. It doesn't take into account how Ambien contributed to the circumstances that came into play," the woman wrote.
Another petitioner, a long-time friend and former roommate of Davidson, wrote, "In all the years (18) I have known Jason, I never ever witnessed a display of temper ... Whether he was influenced by medications or emotionally unstable at the time of the incident, I sincerely believe that the Jason I know could not have committed such an act under normal circumstances."
Petitioners also expressed concern for Davidson's well-being in a high-security prison, where he may be surrounded by more hardened criminals.
"I fear for his welfare and safety if he is released into the general prison population because I believe he will be a target of more hardened criminals ..." the former roommate wrote.
Another letter, apologizing for being forward, begged Judge Reed to turn his "wise and warm heart toward Jason and his fear as to the site of his incarceration, that he be spared the immoral trauma inflicted on many newly arrived inmates."
According to Indiana Criminal Code, Davidson must be sentenced to 45-65 years in prison. He will be sentenced in Kosciusko Circuit Court.
