SUPREME COURT SAYS JUDGE WENT OVERBOARD - Jackson Man Sentenced To 1,140 Years

(04/22/2003)

The West Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that former Circuit Court Judge Charles McCarty went overboard in issuing a prison sentence of at least 1,140 years for a Jackson County man convicted of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl. The justices on Monday ordered the man re-sentenced on 152 counts, saying the prison terms piled on consecutively are "so offensive that they shock the conscience of this court." David Williams of Jackson County was convicted in 2000 of multiple counts of sexual assault. The Supreme Court believes a judge went overboard when he sentenced a Jackson County man to more than 1,100 years in prison for sexually assaulting and abusing a seven-year-old child. While the justices ruled that the man's crimes were, "heinous and repulsive," the stacked prison terms violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. State Police investigated the case after a babysitter reported suspicions in February 2000. The charges stem from incidents that occurred beginning in 1998.

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