Spokane7
65°
October 7, 2010 in City
Sentence too long in stabbing case, high court says
Stabbing a man in the neck, leaving him paralyzed below the chest and in a wheelchair for life, isn’t grounds for an exceptional sentence, the Washington Supreme Court has ruled, returning a case that originated in Pend Orielle County to Superior Court for re-sentencing.
Troy Dean Stubbs was sentenced to 38 years in prison for the first-degree assault against Ryan E. Goodwin after a jury determined that the attack was particularly egregious.
In October 2005, the two men were at a birthday gathering near Cusick, Wash., when Stubbs stabbed Goodwin in the back of the neck, severing Goodwin’s spinal cord. Goodwin, then 22, was holding a propane torch at the time, which started a fire. He couldn’t move his legs but was able to put the fire out with his hands and call for help, according to court documents.
Superior Court Judge Rebecca Baker agreed with prosecutors to give Stubbs, now 44, the longer sentence after the jury determined that the attack was particularly egregious. Stubbs faced a standard range of 13 1/2 to 20 years in prison.
The Court of Appeals upheld the sentencing.
The Washington Supreme Court found, however, that “Although the injuries Goodwin suffered were significant, we conclude that, under the statutory regime, no injury can ‘substantially exceed’ the level of bodily harm necessary to satisfy the element of ‘great bodily harm,’” the opinion reads. “Therefore, we hold that the trial court erred by relying on the jury’s finding regarding the severity of Goodwin’s injuries to justify the exceptional sentence that it imposed.”
1992 murder trial begins against sex offender 
bdr on October 07 at 3:53 p.m.
Shorter sentence?. OK ELECTRIC CHAIR TOMORROW.
will that work for you?
Shylock13 on October 07 at 4:38 p.m.
Apparently, being “paralyzed below the chest and in a wheelchair for life” does meet the criterion of “great bodily harm, according to the Washington Supreme Court. One can only wonder what the Supreme Court justices would consider “great bodily harm’—”decapitation” might work.
Possibly the most egregious judicial decision I’ve ever read!!
What was the vote, and who voted which way?
rightwingextreme on October 07 at 5:09 p.m.
The proper punishment should be a stabbing in the back of the neck!!! An eye for an eye is the proper sentence!!! This puke doesn’t deserve to live of the taxpayers dime in a prison with free food, a bed, cable tv and the rest!!! I hope someone from the victims family takes this clown out!!!
Spokanedude on October 07 at 8:42 p.m.
While this was an unfortunate event I felt like something was being left out so I did a bit of research and it turns out the activities at this “birthday party” consisted of smoking meth until 3 am. It also turns out that propane torch the victim was holding wasn’t being used to light birthday candles. He was making a pipe out of glass when the defendant stabbed him in the back of the neck. I’m not saying this wasn’t an unfortunate thing to happen to a young man but hanging out smoking meth in a motor home every day wasn’t exactly going to lead to great things.
philipgregory on October 08 at 7:40 a.m.
Obviously, the problem is we need to replace those JUDGES!