Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Christopher L. Thompson was sentenced to 60 years in prison - the maximum penalty he could have received - this morning in Kosciusko Circuit Court for killing 21-year-old Jamie Marie Sloan.
In an emotional statement, the father of Jamie Sloan said that no sentence was enough to take away the pain left as a result of Jamie's death.
"I'm not sure I go along with the insanity plea," said Donald Sloan. " I believe it was premeditated ... the fact that he took people out to see the body shows he knows what he did and was proud of it. ... I think he deserves everything he gets."
Thompson, 19, of Warsaw, pleaded guilty but mentally ill March 1 to the shooting death of Sloan, whose body was found Oct. 7 in a field off CR 800S. He also admitted being a firearm violator, a penalty enhancement of the murder charge because a weapon was used when the crime was committed.
Officials determined that Sloan died Oct. 1 of a shotgun blast to the head. The motive for the shooting is said to be the result of a drug deal gone bad. A sawed-off shotgun believed used in the killing has not been found, but police did recover clothing with what is believed to be blood on the items from the South Buffalo Street residence in which Thompson was living at the time of the incident. The car in which the murder took place was found abandoned on Ind. 15 at Redhorse Bait Shop, Warsaw, the night of the murder.
"Chris will not have anything to say today," said Thompson's court-appointed attorney, Jay Rigdon of Warsaw. "He simply wants to express his sorrow and regret for this. ... He has taken something very precious away from a family ... there is just no way to replace that."
According to the terms of Thompson's plea agreement, he could have been sentenced to any prison term, but the possibilities of the death penalty or life in prison without parole were not options. A charge of murder carries a prison sentence of 45 to 65 years and the firearms violation could add another five years to any sentence imposed for the murder. The terms of the plea agreement called for any sentence in excess of 60 years to be suspended.
While Kosciusko County Prosecutor Charles Waggoner asked the court for a sentence of 55 years for the murder charge, with an additional five years for the firearm penalty enhancement, Rigdon sought leniency from the court with a consideration of Thompson's mental condition as a mitigating factor.
Prior to the March hearing, Thompson was evaluated by a psychiatrist who diagnosed Thompson to be a paranoid schizophrenic.
Dr. Paul Yoder, a clinical psychologist from Oaklawn Psychiatric Center in Goshen, not only evaluated Thompson but also provided the court with testimony this morning.
Yoder said Thompson suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, "a very serious mental illness" defined by various features, including brain disorder and emotional impairments, and enhanced by the use of illicit drugs, such as cocaine and speed. Yoder also said that paranoid schizophrenics have a greater tendency toward violent behavior and, if they feel threatened, "believe they are acting in a self-defensive sort of way."
Yoder confirmed Rigdon's assessment that Thompson's condition was "developing for some time and is not something that cropped up in the past six months." Yoder said he had access to Thompson's school records beginning from first grade and that, although the first symptoms of schizophrenia typically begin to manifest after puberty, Thompson seemed to have symptoms earlier than that.
Many of the school reports Yoder had access to described Thompson as "being in his own world" and pointed out that he often did strange things, such as eating pencils and flies, and that he would often laugh inappropriately and had a generally disruptive behavior.
Rigdon told Judge Rex Reed that he would like to see Thompson given the opportunity to get the help he needs for his mental illness.
Waggoner told the court that he has a different view of Thompson. "I think he chose to do what he did because he wanted to be known as a tough guy. ... (Jamie's death) defies explanation because it shouldn't have happened."
"There are two families here that have suffered," Reed said. "Unfortunately, one of them has suffered a complete loss of a child." Reed said he felt the aggravating and mitigating circumstances balanced one another out and, therefore, imposed the 55-year presumptive sentence without any additions or reductions in the prison term, plus five years for the penalty enhancement.
Referring to the Sloan family, Reed said to Thompson, "There is nothing I can do to remove that pain that family suffers. ... I pray they can achieve some healing by trying to forgive you. They will never forget and may never forgive you." He added that he didn't feel the Sloan family would feel any better about the situation "if I sentenced you to 10,000 years."
Reed said that Thompson's admission of guilt indicated he shows remorse for taking Sloan's life.
"I'd like to think that you're remorseful. I'd like to think that I'm looking at a 19-year-old person who didn't take any pleasure in having killed someone."
Under Indiana law, an inmate is allowed one day off his sentence for every day served under good behavior. Therefore, Thompson could be released from prison in about 30 years.
