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The sentence for Raymond Harris of life without the possibility of parole for at least 25 years was less than the jury had recommended. Jurors had said Harris should get life in prison without parole.
But Circuit Judge James L. Bowling Jr. said fairness required that Harris at least have a chance for parole someday. That was because two other men responsible in Browning's murder received sentences under which they can be paroled, Bowling said.
The fact that Harris, 61, will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years does not mean he will be released at that point. That state parole board will decide that.
The decision to give Harris a sentence less than the jury recommended upset Browning's widow, Jayne, who attended the hearing.
"I feel like it was a slap in the face," Jayne Browning said tearfully.
The prosecutor, Commonwealth's Attorney Karen Greene Blondell, said she respected Bowling and did not question the ruling. But she had opposed anything less than life without parole.
"The verdict by the jury I think reflects the conscience of the community about this horrible crime," Blondell said.
Bowling also sentenced former drug dealer Dewayne Harris, who is Raymond Harris' uncle, to 30 years in prison Monday for his role in the crime.
A jury convicted Raymond Harris, 61, of shooting Browning in the head, then taking part in burning Browning's body. It was one of the highest-profile murders in recent years in Eastern Kentucky because of those involved and the circumstances.
Murder plots
Browning was sheriff of Harlan County in the early 1980s before he was convicted of plotting to kill political rivals and was sent to prison. Browning, with his right to hold office restored by the governor, mounted a campaign to win back the office in 2002. He was running against the incumbent in the Democratic primary when he was killed in March 2002.
After he was murdered, tapes surfaced showing him taking cash from Dewayne Harris and saying he would protect some drug dealers if he won office.
The murder grew out of a case of police corruption, according to a key witness.
Dewayne Harris, who was once a major drug dealer, testified he was bribing then-sheriff's Deputy Roger D. Hall for protection and help in his drug operation in 2002.
Hall, concerned Browning would beat his boss, then-Sheriff Steve Duff, and get rid of Hall, decided he wanted Browning killed, Harris said.
Dewayne Harris said his uncle, an out-of-work alcoholic, volunteered to kill Browning. Hall supplied the pistol to kill Browning and paid Raymond Harris $1,000 for pulling the trigger, Dewayne Harris testified.
Dewayne Harris and Johnny Epperson, a one-time cocaine addict who helped in his sizable drug operation, pleaded guilty to taking part in the scheme. Epperson helped move Browning's body and set it on fire inside Browning's pickup.
But both testified Raymond Harris shot the former sheriff when the four stopped beside the road while driving to Middlesboro.
Lesser sentences
Raymond Harris' attorneys argued that one of the other conspirators killed Browning and lied to blame it on Harris.
Hall, who left the sheriff's office in 2003, refused to testify at Harris' trial. He has not been charged in Browning's death, but it is likely state police will seek charges against him in Harlan County.
In court Monday, Raymond Harris' attorney, Marcus Jones, asked the judge not to send Harris to prison with no chance of parole. Harris had no previous felony convictions, and other charges against him were related to his alcohol abuse, Jones said.
Blondell, however, argued Harris did not deserve a lesser sentence, saying he murdered Browning intentionally for money. Anything less than life in prison would depreciate what will be remembered as one of the worst crimes in the history of the county, she said.
"There's nothing about what he did that merits a lesser penalty," she said.
But Bowling said that although the triggerman in a murder conspiracy is never the least culpable, sometimes he isn't the most culpable, either. Dewayne Harris and Epperson were also to blame in Browning's murder, but they will have a chance at parole, the judge noted.
Bowling said he was not being critical of those plea arrangements. State police Detective Michael Cornett did a masterful, dogged job of investigating the case, and the plea deals for Dewayne Harris and Epperson were necessary to solve the case, the judge said.
Epperson, serving six years in a federal drug case, was sentenced to 20 years in Browning's murder. His state sentence will start after his federal time, and he will be eligible for parole after just four years of that state term.
Dewayne Harris is serving 270 months in federal prison on drug charges. His 30-year term in the Browning case is to run at the same time, meaning he will be eligible for parole in the murder by the time he finishes his federal sentence, the judge said.
