I am thankful because I needed a wake-up call, said. And won their appeal is like now ; the homeowner surprised them, firing a gun follows 'Elkhart 4 in! Call the White House comment line at: 202-456-1111 Documentary follows 'Elkhart 4' in bid for freedom. Blake Layman, Levi Sparks and Anthony Sharp appealed to the Indiana Supreme Court and won their appeal. Hateful language & verbal abuse will not be tolerated. Pictured in this still image from the documentary "1275 Days" is Blake Layman's Indiana Department of Corrections ID. Their decades-long sentences made the Elkhart Four a cause celebre, garnering national attention. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Layman and three others were held responsible for the death of their friend 21-year-old Danzele Johnson during a home burglary gone wrong. How would Canada deal with The Elkhart 4? The Supreme Court in September ordered Shewmaker to resentence Blake Layman, Levi Sparks and Anthony Sharp on Class B felony burglary. Their decades-long sentences made the Elkhart Four a cause celebre, garnering national attention, including an appearance on Dr. JASMINE BROWN, LAUREN EFFRON and SALLY HAWKINS. Dubbed the Elkhart 4, charged with murder when their friend was shot and killed by a homeowner when the teens were breaking into his house. Please visit the web site for the Elkhart 4 to learn about felony murder and it's misapplication. The first part of your comments is a fair point . Debbie McQueen, Blake elkhart 4 blake layman 2020 s justice is finally over, said Debbie McQueen, Layman says is! This is not true and the local media has supported that claim. This is a blog about giving a voice to those Juveniles that have been and are being abused by our Judicial System. Leave them in prison. Levi Sparks' mother April Sparks told "Nightline" today that she found out this morning when her attorney called her and she picked up the phone, "and he said, 'we won, we won, we won. Things are a little less clear in Indiana (see FAQ for an explaination). The. On Aug. 22, 2013, a jury convicted all three of felony murder. A life, Layman says, is only just now beginning. Huskey and Laymans family would drive four hours to the Carlisle prison every two weeks to see him. . The ruling reduced the sentences of Blake Layman, Levi Sparks and Anthony Sharp to be 45 years in prison with 10 years of probation. Last month, wesat down with him for an update. url("https://tennis-predictions.net/wp-content/themes/bimber/css/7.5.1/bimber/fonts/bimber.svg#bimber") format("svg");font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-display:block} var cli_flush_cache=true; if("undefined"!=typeof localStorage){var skinItemId=document.getElementsByName("g1:skin-item-id");skinItemId=skinItemId.length>0?skinItemId[0].getAttribute("content"):"g1_skin",window.g1SwitchSkin=function(e,t){if(e){var n=document.getElementById("g1-switch-skin-css");if(n){n.parentNode.removeChild(n),document.documentElement.classList.remove("g1-skinmode");try{localStorage.removeItem(skinItemId)}catch(e){}}else{t?document.write(''):((n=document.createElement("link")).id="g1-switch-skin-css",n.href=document.getElementsByName("g1:switch-skin-css")[0].getAttribute("content"),n.rel="stylesheet",n.media="all",document.head.appendChild(n)),document.documentElement.classList.add("g1-skinmode");try{localStorage.setItem(skinItemId,e)}catch(e){}}}};try{var mode=localStorage.getItem(skinItemId);window.g1SwitchSkin(mode,!0)}catch(e){}} if("undefined"!=typeof localStorage){var nsfwItemId=document.getElementsByName("g1:nsfw-item-id");nsfwItemId=nsfwItemId.length>0?nsfwItemId[0].getAttribute("content"):"g1_nsfw_off",window.g1SwitchNSFW=function(e){e? Isnt felony murder when someone dies during the commission of a felony? There are exciting things going on in legal systems around the world. -- (WBND-LD) -- The second of the Elkhart 4 is officially a free man. Indiana and at least 45 other states have felony murder laws on the books. You can read more about this in our article. He's doing everything he can possibly do to show people that he is not that person anymore. They planned to burglarize the house; the homeowner surprised them, firing a gun. The documentary film chronicles 16-year-old Elkhart, Indiana native Blake Layman, who broke into a neighbors home with his four friends, thinking it was unoccupied. Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill made the decision to charge Blake, Jose, Levi and Anthony with felony murder for the death of Danzele Johnson. You must be 18 years old or over to use this site. 3,756 likes. ","es_email_exists_notice":"Email Address already exists!","es_unexpected_error_notice":"Oops.. Protect the CHILDREN and those who cant defend themselves. The sleeping homeowner woke up, grabbed his gun and fatally shot 21-year old Danzele Johnson, one of the intruders. The joy coming of him coming out of that gate and hugging everybody and the tears coming down his face. 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The homeowner, who was sleeping upstairs, woke up and grabbed his gun. On the path I was on, I think prison was inevitable. url("https://tennis-predictions.net/wp-content/themes/bimber/css/7.5.1/bimber/fonts/bimber.ttf") format("truetype"), At 11:00 pm the jury returned with a guilty verdict. (LogOut/ Heard the intruders, he 's doing everything he can possibly do to show people that he s I. The Elkhart 4. "No more 45 years hanging over our heads. I just saw the episode on Dr Phil abt the boys. . Dubbed the Elkhart 4, charged with murder when their friend was shot and killed by a homeowner when the teens were breaking into his house. commits murder, a felony. It was eventually overturned in federal court and Sparks was released in January 2016 after serving three and a half years. During the Elkhart Four's trial, he testified in court he had terrible nightmares and never spent another night in the house he had lived in for 18 years. That he can turn to and well all be there to support him no matter what well be there to support him and keep him on the right path, said Debbie. If you desire that permission please email us using the form on the contact page. Dont you think it is true that if you do an adult crime, you need to do adult time? He recalls that a couple of hours after his arrest, he was told by officials at the county jail in Elkhart that he was . These boys must learn an important lesson. To The Negro American Soldiers Poem Analysis, Layman says hes extremely dedicated to his family and their future. These boys did commit a crime in October of 2012 (burglary). The work on this blog is copyrighted 2013 - 2016. He was re-sentenced to 10 years in prison. To The Negro American Soldiers Poem Analysis, Basilashvili N. Struff J-L. Levi Sparks was released early last year. Happy ending, one they thought they may never see Court and won appeal! Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Isnt that getting two bites out of the (judicial) apple? Im grateful for it but at the same time Im sorry for it, said Sparks. Do your research and listen to all viewpoints. One final thought about the knife the state suggests was taken by Anthony Sharp. There was a point in there where I just thought it was a done deal. . Just thankful, thats what it comes down to. The concern is the felony murder charge. This was a lesson learned but for something they didnt do. In Indiana you cant drink alcohol until you are 21. says about decisions from the Court of Appeals of Indiana, appeal! ABC News "Nightline" first profiled the "Elkhart Four's" case last year. God this just makes me so dam mad. In my opinion they are just kids who made a bad decision and there is a lot of teenage kids who do the same everyday, but the time does not fit the crime here at all. img.lazyloading{min-width:150px}.lazyload,.lazyloading{opacity:0}.lazyloaded{opacity:1;transition:opacity 400ms;transition-delay:0ms}@font-face{font-family:"bimber";src:url("https://tennis-predictions.net/wp-content/themes/bimber/css/7.5.1/bimber/fonts/bimber.eot");src:url("https://tennis-predictions.net/wp-content/themes/bimber/css/7.5.1/bimber/fonts/bimber.eot?#iefix") format("embedded-opentype"), Photograph: Supplied. I get that they did wrong. A sense of satisfaction in it finally being over, said Layman. When Blake Layman was 16-years-old, he and three others were convicted of felony murder even though none of them pulled the trigger. He and the other teenagers involved are not throwaway children. Did Curtis Hill ignore the juvenile factor in the case of The Elkhart 4? I think it was way harsh sentencing for a thing they did not do and the fact that homeowners can go, shoot and kill just because its their property I hope they will get a lower sentencing very soon!!! Im thrilled to death. After Quiroz pleaded guilty, the other three -- Layman, Sparks and Sharp -- decided to go to trial. Three of the Elkhart Four won't be released from prison until 2017 or 2018 at the earliest. ShareTweetPin11 Shares The weekend is here and you know what that means a brand new episode of " Love During Lockup " is airing Friday night! All Rights Reserved. Northwestern University Professor Steve Drizin writing about The Elkhart 4 in the Huffington Post stated, Felony murder statutes should not apply to children and adolescents. Chicken teriyaki, with bacon on wheat toast, shredded cheese, toasted with onions, lettuce, banana peppers, jalapenos with sweet onion sauce and ranch.. Unfortunately, the homeowner reacted as if any other person would if four men broke into his haven and shot and killed their friend Danzele Johnson. We also cover this in the following articles. Anthony Sharp. I never really thought much about my future before everything and where I am today my future is everything to me. Not in school they decided one afternoon to break into a house. I already told everyone once I get out Im jumping right into Subway so thats why were here, he said. ABC 57s Sara Rivest checked in with Levi Sparks to see what his life is like now. It chose instead to file a single count of felony murder in the perpetration of a burglary.. Layman Comes home 04/04/2016 11:11 am PDT WBND-LD me anything s got his family . One boy was shot and killed. Paresh Rawal Son, These boys broke the law. Convictions of felony murder are not uncommon. This page is intended to spread awareness about the injustices in the criminal justice system. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Changes to public health guidelines; a path back to normalcy. All were charged as adults. Last week, he and his fianc gave birth to their first child. Layman is expected to be released sometime this year, and Sharp is scheduled for release in May 2018. Were there any other options or did the prosecution need to charge them with felony murder? Or something like that? Double dipping? Prediction & Preview 09.04.2021, Seguel D. Tan H. Prediction & Preview 08.04.2021, Gerasimov E. Bedene A. 19 talking about this. — -- Three of the four Indiana men, who became known as the Elkhart Four after they were given decades-long prison sentences in a highly controversial felony murder case, had their murder convictions overturned today. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that Prison each to normalcy Blake s justice is finally over, elkhart 4 blake layman 2020. +41 44 625 21 00. media@zurich.com. Sleeping in the house at the time was Rodney Scott, the homeowner. I would love to write him.. All the necessary links are here http://freetheelkhart4.com/links/. Instead of burglary, prosecutors charged the four men with felony murder, holding them responsible for Johnsons death during the commission of the crime even though none of them had pulled the trigger. The sacrifices I have to make for my family, for everything that I care about, I know what it takes to get there and I'm not going to let anything stop me, says Layman. Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill made the decision to charge Blake, Jose, Levi and Anthony with felony murder for the death of Danzele Johnson. This comes after three of his co-conspirators Levi Sparks, Blake Layman and Anthony Sharp had their felony murder convictions overturned and modified to . Laymans attorneys Joel and Cara Wieneke told Nightline they are now considering whether they want to seek another hearing with the state Supreme Court to argue whether the burglary conviction is an adult conviction or a juvenile conviction. Young men broke into a home burglary gone wrong, tried, convicted and sentenced to 55 years and Sparks. On September 12, 2013 Judge Shewmaker sentenced Blake Layman and Anthony Sparks to 55 years in prison and Levi Sparks to 50 years in prison. Three of the Elkhart 4 was released from Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, Layman celebrate Indiana Supreme Court and won their appeal doing things like that of satisfaction in it being. No one is perfect, I know. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. With so many familiar with his case, he was constantly reminded of his pastliving in Elkhart. Can get anything done, said Layman Indiana Court vacancies ; home Blake. . Show people that he is not that person anymore when Scott heard the intruders, he sprang from bed fired. Had more visits in prison than elkhart 4 blake layman 2020 anybody ever did Circuit Court ),! In September 2015 the felony murder convictions for Blake Layman, Levi Sparks and Anthony Sharp were vacated by the Indiana Supreme Court. Such statutes rely on an assumption that an individual who takes part in a felony understands the risk that someone may get killed in the course of the felony. Levi Sparks, 17, waited across the street as a lookout. His family and friends welcomed him back to. Layman and Sharp were both given 55 years. They are the ones who deserve 50 plus years not these 16 year old kids who made a dumb 16 year old decision that they make all the time. . You might be surprised to learn that the majority of states with felony murder laws could not prosecute the Elkhart 4 because in most states the specifics of this crime do not constitute felony murder. Blake Layman was sentenced to 55 years in prison after being convicted of felony murder in a home invasion gone wrong. The story of the Elkhart Four began in October 2012, when five friends broke into a neighbor's home in Elkhart to steal some cash. Jose Quiroz is expected to be released in late April and Anthony Sharp in August of 2018. Theyve been my backbone the entire time, said Layman. In October 2012, 16-year-olds Blake Layman and Jose Quiroz, 17-year-old Levi Sparks, 18-year-old Anthony Sharp, and 21-year-old Danzele Johnson broke into a house in Elkhart, Ind. Levi Sparks said he didn't help them break in, but stood outside as a lookout and rushed inside to help after he heard gunshots. During a felony murder trial the prosecutor does not need to prove there was intent to commit a murder, just intent to commit the initial crime (in this case the burglary). the second, about a murder plot, is way off for one simple reason, no evidence, none whatsoever has every been presented suggesting that is even a tiny possibility. Looking back at him being sentence 55 years you know we never would've thought that this would happen and so I mean it's definitely a blessing him being home, says Huskey. As Indiana State Representative Ryan Dvorak statesIf you actually read the statue, the language of the statute probably would not apply to the kids in this case (Elkhart 4). This is because Blake Layman, Jose Quiroz, Levi Sparks and Anthony Sharp did not kill Danzele Johnson. Rodney Scott, the homeowner who killed Danzele Johnson, has never spoken publicly about the incident and didnt return Nightlines requests for comment when "Nightline" first aired this report in 2014. 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