Judge refuses to reduce life term for teen killer
POCATELLO, Idaho – The sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole will not be reduced for convicted teen murderer Torey Adamcik.
Sixth District Judge Peter D. McDermott on Monday denied Adamcik’s motion seeking a more lenient sentence, saying no reason existed for ever releasing Adamcik from prison.
“I believe the sentence this court imposed is a righteous sentence,” McDermott said.
The Idaho State Journal reported that McDermott said he considered Adamcik’s age, medical opinions and other evidence when making his decision.
Adamcik and Brian Draper were convicted last year in separate trials of killing Cassie Jo Stoddart. Both received life sentences for first-degree murder and 30-years-to-life for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
They were arrested Sept. 27, 2006, five days after investigators say Stoddart was stabbed as many as 30 times while house-sitting for relatives in northeast Bannock County. All three were 16-year-old juniors at Pocatello High School at the time.
Adamcik’s attorney, Aaron Thompson, said that Adamcik is “a boy with absolutely no hope” in his current imprisonment, where “every day the routine will be the same until he dies.”
He asked that Adamcik be given a chance for parole at some future date.
Paul Cisneros, Stoddart’s grandfather, read from a statement arguing against the motion.
“So what if Torey is in a tiny little room? My granddaughter will never leave her casket,” he said.
Thompson said that a second exam of Adamcik on March 1 indicated he has neurocognitive deficits in his prefrontal lobe, a condition Thompson said can lead to impaired reasoning and lack of impulse control.
But Thompson argued that studies have shown rehabilitation is possible in minors with similar deficits.
Bannock County Prosecutor Mark Hiedeman countered arguments by family members and supporters of Adamcik who said that Draper alone killed Stoddart. He said Adamcik had opportunities during early interviews with police to blame Draper, but didn’t.