The jury, after convicting Pope, sentenced him to 35 years for raping the 88-year-old victim. The minimum sentence he could have received was five years. The maximum was life.
For the killing of the elderly woman, who was brutally attacked, robbed, and raped before being murdered, the jury sentenced Pope to life in prison, plus a $100,000 fine (the maximum).
The defense attorney asked for a presentence report and asked Judge Allan Sharrett to consider suspending some of the sentence.
The judge will impose a sentence on Pope. It is up to him whether he accepts the jury's recommendation on sentencing or decides to sentence Pope otherwise. Because the rape and murder happened in 1975, Pope will be parole eligible.
More than 30 years after the crime, which shocked and outraged the community, Pope's DNA was matched to the DNA left at the crime scene after a review of old DNA evidence.
Pope said he is innocent of the crime but a jury of his peers felt otherwise.
Reprinted with permission from the Independent-Messenger
There is to be no profanity and there is to be no character assassination even if the person being written about is a suspect in a crime.
Comments that presume knowledge of a person’s home life, financial situation or other personal details will be not be posted as will comments which presume legal knowledge.
All comments must be on the topic of the story and offer the reader’s insight on a particular issue. rrspin.com will cease posting comments if the editor determines readers are infighting with one another and not staying on the topic of a story.
rrspin.com prefers readers use their real names because anonymous posters are accountable for their comments just as readers who post their names are.