Man sentenced to 10 years in toddler's death
NORWICH – A Cincinnatus man who pleaded guilty in a baby’s death appeared in court Friday in an attempt to withdraw his plea.
After a two-hour hearing, Supreme Court Justice Kevin M. Dowd denied Jason Allen Sherman’s request to withdraw his plea and sentenced him to 10 years in state prison.
The 26-year-old was charged with first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault over the 2006 death of his live-in girlfriend’s 16-month-old son, Marshall Lee Barber Jr.
Sherman claimed Friday he had ineffectual representation from his ex-defense attorney Randolph Kruman.
Dowd ruled against this claim, saying Kruman had given Sherman “superb representation,” in negotiating a 10-year prison term in a plea bargain with Chenango County District Attorney Joseph A. McBride.
“I tend to be a very old-fashioned person. I believe in things like oaths and honesty and honor. And I think you should tell the truth at all times. But you should certainly tell the truth when you raise your hand and swear to tell the truth,” said Dowd, referring to Sherman’s decision to plead guilty in open court back in April.
At that time, the judge asked Sherman whether he was happy with his representation and whether he was guilty of the manslaughter, along with several other standard questions of competence and integrity regarding the plea. Sherman responded affirmatively to all.
Sherman was arrested Nov. 10, 2006 in the Town of Pitcher because police said the toddler appeared to have been physically and sexually abused.
During the hearing, Sherman waived his right to attorney-client privilege so Kruman could take the stand and be questioned by newly-assigned defense attorney Edward Goehler.
During the testimony, Kruman said Sherman never admitted to killing the infant, except for the day he pleaded guilty in court. Kruman revealed that he had three main reasons for seeking to have the case settled. The first, he explained, was that the defense’s medical expert in the case sided with the prosecution’s forensic expert that the infant had died as a result of physical abuse.
“That was the biggest problem, so to speak, in going to trial,” said Kruman on the stand.
He also said the photographs of the infant were “extremely graphic” and would be difficult to show a jury. Lastly, Kruman said Sherman’s violent criminal history, which included a similar incident nearly 12 years ago, made it a difficult case to present to a jury.
Sherman was previously sent to a juvenile detention facility for sexually assaulting his 3-year-old stepsister and nearly beating her to death. The crime took place in Louisiana, but the specifics regarding the date of the conviction were not given in court.
Lt. James E. Lloyd of the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office testified about that incident at an earlier hearing, saying Sherman had attacked the child while he was supposed to be baby-sitting her and that the parents of the child were originally arrested, but Sherman eventually stepped forward.
Kruman testified that a disturbing similarity between that case and the current one was that both victims had similar injuries to their genital areas and because of that, the prosecution could have introduced it at trial as part of Sherman’s M.O. (modus operandi).
Sherman had little to say when Dowd asked him if he had comment before sentencing.
“I just think my sentences should be concurrent,” he said. Sherman is currently serving a prison term for violating his probation, which has roughly another year left on it. If given a concurrent sentence, he would be out in 9 years. Instead, the judge ordered a consecutive sentence which, when combined, will end in about 11 years.
Sherman refused to waive his right to an appeal, which was part of his plea bargain. McBride had the option of withdrawing the agreement, but decided to go ahead with the plea as it was.
McBride told the court that if Sherman had successfully had his plea withdrawn, his office would consider presenting new charges of second degree murder to the grand jury.
Sherman remanded back to the Wyoming Correctional Facility, where he will begin serving his sentences.
After a two-hour hearing, Supreme Court Justice Kevin M. Dowd denied Jason Allen Sherman’s request to withdraw his plea and sentenced him to 10 years in state prison.
The 26-year-old was charged with first-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault over the 2006 death of his live-in girlfriend’s 16-month-old son, Marshall Lee Barber Jr.
Sherman claimed Friday he had ineffectual representation from his ex-defense attorney Randolph Kruman.
Dowd ruled against this claim, saying Kruman had given Sherman “superb representation,” in negotiating a 10-year prison term in a plea bargain with Chenango County District Attorney Joseph A. McBride.
“I tend to be a very old-fashioned person. I believe in things like oaths and honesty and honor. And I think you should tell the truth at all times. But you should certainly tell the truth when you raise your hand and swear to tell the truth,” said Dowd, referring to Sherman’s decision to plead guilty in open court back in April.
At that time, the judge asked Sherman whether he was happy with his representation and whether he was guilty of the manslaughter, along with several other standard questions of competence and integrity regarding the plea. Sherman responded affirmatively to all.
Sherman was arrested Nov. 10, 2006 in the Town of Pitcher because police said the toddler appeared to have been physically and sexually abused.
During the hearing, Sherman waived his right to attorney-client privilege so Kruman could take the stand and be questioned by newly-assigned defense attorney Edward Goehler.
During the testimony, Kruman said Sherman never admitted to killing the infant, except for the day he pleaded guilty in court. Kruman revealed that he had three main reasons for seeking to have the case settled. The first, he explained, was that the defense’s medical expert in the case sided with the prosecution’s forensic expert that the infant had died as a result of physical abuse.
“That was the biggest problem, so to speak, in going to trial,” said Kruman on the stand.
He also said the photographs of the infant were “extremely graphic” and would be difficult to show a jury. Lastly, Kruman said Sherman’s violent criminal history, which included a similar incident nearly 12 years ago, made it a difficult case to present to a jury.
Sherman was previously sent to a juvenile detention facility for sexually assaulting his 3-year-old stepsister and nearly beating her to death. The crime took place in Louisiana, but the specifics regarding the date of the conviction were not given in court.
Lt. James E. Lloyd of the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office testified about that incident at an earlier hearing, saying Sherman had attacked the child while he was supposed to be baby-sitting her and that the parents of the child were originally arrested, but Sherman eventually stepped forward.
Kruman testified that a disturbing similarity between that case and the current one was that both victims had similar injuries to their genital areas and because of that, the prosecution could have introduced it at trial as part of Sherman’s M.O. (modus operandi).
Sherman had little to say when Dowd asked him if he had comment before sentencing.
“I just think my sentences should be concurrent,” he said. Sherman is currently serving a prison term for violating his probation, which has roughly another year left on it. If given a concurrent sentence, he would be out in 9 years. Instead, the judge ordered a consecutive sentence which, when combined, will end in about 11 years.
Sherman refused to waive his right to an appeal, which was part of his plea bargain. McBride had the option of withdrawing the agreement, but decided to go ahead with the plea as it was.
McBride told the court that if Sherman had successfully had his plea withdrawn, his office would consider presenting new charges of second degree murder to the grand jury.
Sherman remanded back to the Wyoming Correctional Facility, where he will begin serving his sentences.
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