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Attorneys involved in David C. Reed's upcoming trial presented their arguments Monday regarding the life without parole request prosecutors made in late February.
Reed will go to trial in April for the alleged murder of his two sons, Justin, 1, and Austin, 3. The boys died in a March 1998 house fire at Reed's 9816 Majestic Way, Marineland Gardens, Syracuse, residence.
The fire originally was ruled accidental, but a state fire marshal's investigation alleges it was arson. A grand jury was impaneled and indicted Reed in 2002 on two counts of murder.
If convicted, Reed is eligible for life without parole or death penalty sentencing based on three aggravating circumstances: the victims were under age 12; the victims were burned while alive; the victims allegedly were killed in the fire.
Defense attorneys J. Brad Voelz and Anthony Churchward said the prosecution's request to sentence Reed to life without parole, if convicted, is unconstitutional.
They cited a U.S. Supreme Court case, Ring v. Arizona, that says the jury should be able to weigh the aggravating and mitigating factors to decide if a convicted defendant should be sentenced to life without parole or death.
The case also emphasizes the jury's responsibility in the defendant's sentencing.
Special prosecutor Michael A. Cristofeno, Elkhart, said the Supreme Court case does not necessarily apply in Indiana because it applies to crimes where death or life without parole are over and beyond the law's usual maximum sentence. In Indiana, Cristofeno said, life without parole or death is the prescribed maximum sentence for murder.
Lawyers for both sides cited Indiana cases where state judges ruled on both sides of the Supreme Court decision.
Circuit Court Judge Rex Reed said he hopes to come to a decision by the end of this week.
