Published: July 19, 2008 01:56 am            

Inmate seeks shorter sentence

Six years after pleading guilty to conspiring to murder her husband, Tina McCallister was back in court Friday morning requesting a lighter sentence.

McCallister was sentenced to 35 years in prison and five years probation, but as part of her plea agreement, she reserved the right to have her sentence modified after six years.

According to the prosecution, McCallister’s lover, Damon Slaughter, shot and killed her husband, 34-year-old Ernest McCallister, in March 2001.

Prosecutors believe that Tina, 28 at the time, lured her husband into an office near University Woods Apartments in New Albany, where Slaughter killed him.

Slaughter pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed with a deadly weapon, a class A felony. He received the same prison time as McCallister, but cannot be released before June 2018, according to court records.

At one point, Slaughter was scheduled to testify against McCallister, but never did. McCallister initially pled insanity, but changed her plea to guilty in July 2002.

Stain Faith, prosecutor at the time, said the prosecution did not know McCallister’s exact involvement, or they would never have agreed to a plea that allowed her to possibly go free after six years.

Former Deputy Prosecutor Shane Gibson said he remembers that Slaughter and McCallister had tried to kill her husband at least once before. He believes McCallister was the mastermind.

“She ultimately was the planner,” Gibson said. “He pretty much did what she needed or wanted.”

Deputy Prosecutor Steve Owen, now representing the state, said the crime was heinous and asked the judge to not grant the modification.

“If you’re able to have sex with a man and tell him you love him and within an hour kill him ... I don’t know what else to call it but evil,” he said.

A forensic psychologist who examined McCallister in prison testified that she was a very low risk to offend again. He also said that McCallister gave him a detailed description of the crime — one that differs greatly from the story she originally told police and prosecutors.

“Back then, I blamed everybody but myself for the crime I was involved with,” McCallister testified. “I went through a lot of counseling ... and now I’m me. I accept full responsibility.”

Faith said McCallister told them she hid the gun in her husband’s casket. Prosecutors went to West Virginia to exhume the body and found no weapon.

On Friday, McCallister’s lawyer, William Goebel, argued that she and her children were abused by her husband and had been taking too much anxiety medication at the time.

Gibson said they found no evidence she had been abused.

While in prison in Rockville, McCallister has had a good record and received an associate’s degree and is working toward a bachelor’s degree, her lawyer said.

He called several witnesses, including her mother, who testified that McCallister had changed since before the murder. McCallister’s daughters, who still keep in touch with their mother, also were present in the courtroom. An auctioneer testified that he could provide employment for McCallister if she is released.

The victim’s family was not present for the hearing, and the state called no witnesses. Judge J. Terrence Cody said it could take some time for him to review the case before reaching a decision.

He said he would take into consideration that McCallister has done well in prison, but made no promises about granting her modification request.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.