Monday, Paul Henry Gingerich could possibly find out more information on where his appeal is going.
On Feb. 17, the Indiana Court of Appeals denied the State of Indiana’s motion to dismiss Gingerich’s appeal. By the court’s decision, the court is continuing with Gingerich’s appeal of his sentence in the murder of Phillip Danner in 2010.
The idea to kill Danner came when 15-year-old Colt Lundy, Danner’s stepson, decided he wanted to go to Arizona with his friends to sell T-shirts and marijuana, but he knew Danner would not allow it.
Lundy asked Gingerich to help kill Danner so they could leave for Arizona. A third youth, Chase Williams, also was involved. Court documents indicate Williams helped Gingerich climb into a window of the Danner home. Lundy then gave Gingerich a gun and the two waited for Danner in the living room of the home.
When Danner walked into the room, both Lundy and Gingerich fired. Danner was struck four times and died at the scene. Later that night the three left for Arizona, but were found in Illinois early the next morning when employees at a Walmart became suspicious of the three boys attempting to convert loose change into cash, and called police.
On Jan. 4, 2011, Kosciusko County Circuit Judge Rex Reed sentenced Gingerich to 30 years in prison, with five years suspended. Reed was given the case after Kosciusko County Superior I Court Judge Duane Huffer decided to waive Gingerich to adult court.
Shortly after Gingerich’s conviction, Gingerich’s lawyer, Monica Foster, filed a notice of appeal of his conviction on Jan. 26, 2011.
On Dec. 5, 2011, Foster filed the full appeal with the Indiana Court of Appeals. The appeal contests Huffer’s decision to try Gingerich, who was 12 at the time, as an adult.
Foster argues under Indiana Code 31-30-3-4 there was not a full investigation and Gingerich was waived in violation of his due process rights.
The waiver of jurisdiction reads, “Upon motion of the prosecuting attorney and after full investigation and hearing, the juvenile court shall waive jurisdiction if it finds that: the child is charged with an act that would be murder if committed by an adult; there is probable cause to believe that the child has committed the act; and the child was at least 10 years of age when the act charged was allegedly committed; unless it would be in the best interests of the child and of the safety and welfare of the community for the child to remain within the juvenile justice system.”
While Foster is Gingerich’s lawyer, there is no shortage of help from outside groups. Within the time Foster filed her notice of appeal and actually filing her appeal, there were four special interest groups offering help to the case. The Marion County Public Defender Agency, Children’s Law Center, Juvenile Law Center and National Juvenile Center & Campaign For Youth Justice all filed briefs with the court of appeals on behalf of Gingerich.
One of the state’s key points is the fact that when he was waived to adult court he signed a plea agreement in which he gave up his right to appeal. Gingerich’s legal team is fighting that fact, saying that he should have never been in adult court to begin with, therefore his plea agreement is void.
Gingerich’s case was only in the juvenile system four days before being moved to Reed’s court. Under the statute for moving cases from juvenile to adult court, there is no set period of time the judge must allow the legal teams to prepare for arguments.
In addition to the possibility that Gingerich’s due process rights were violated, Foster argues that there was a psychological evaluation that was done on Gingerich and the psychologist found him to be incompetent to stand trial. Foster argues that the court ignored the opinion of the psychologist and did nothing further to prove that Gingerich was competent to stand trial.
In the appeal that Foster filed with the state of Indiana, she states that by ignoring the psychologists report and denying a continuance to prepare for the waiver hearing, Gingerich’s due process rights were violated.
On top of the psychologist’s statement, in Indiana between 2000 and 2010 there were only 13 children sentenced as adults for murder. None of those were under the age of 14.
Kosciusko County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Hampton is helping the Indiana Attorney General’s Office prepare paperwork for Monday’s deadline for filing a brief on the case. Hampton was the prosecuting attorney when the case went to adult court and is aware of the consequences in the case.
“If Gingerich’s appeal is upheld then he will be sent back to the juvenile court to determine whether or not he will stay in the juvenile system,” said Hampton. “If he is sent back to the juvenile system, he could still be sent back to the adult court and he could then appeal the decision again.”
On Monday the attorney general’s office is required to turn in their brief on the appeal for further inquiry by the appeals court.
