tool name

Friday, Jul. 18, 2008

Life in prison for killer of police chief

MOUNT STERLING — James H. Barnett had eased back into his chair between his court-appointed attorneys when he turned toward his family Thursday afternoon.

“I’m going to take a life sentence,” he whispered to the folks who know him better as Jamie.

After an emotional morning of testimony during the sentencing phase of his trial, Barnett took his fate into his own hands, rather than allowing the jury to decide it.

Barnett, who on Wednesday was found guilty of wanton murder for shooting Clay City police chief Randy Lacy, accepted a deal for life in prison.

The jury could have sentenced him to anywhere from 20 years to 50 years or life in prison.

The agreement would provide Barnett with a chance of parole in 20 years. He will also serve a three-year sentence concurrently with the life sentence for theft by unlawful taking.

Edith Miller, the jury forewoman, declined to comment on the jury’s deliberations. Other jurors also declined to comment.

Barnett, 38, can appeal the verdict of wanton murder, but one of his attorneys wasn’t sure if he would.

Barnett will be formally sentenced Aug. 6.

Lacy, 55, arrested Barnett on June 13, 2007, on suspicion of drunk driving. Barnett was drunk and high at the time, according to testimony.

Lacy had handcuffed Barnett with his hands in front — something he often did for suspects he knew, witnesses have testified.

Police said Barnett, who was in the back seat of Lacy’s cruiser, grabbed the officer’s spare gun while the officer collected evidence. Barnett shot him through the barrier between the front and back seats as Lacy drove to the Powell County jail in Stanton.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Darrell Herald said the Lacy family was satisfied with the deal, which gave Barnett the maximum sentence available.

“I actually saw some smiles on some of their faces,” Herald said.

Barbara Carnes, one of Barnett’s attorneys, said her client “has accepted responsibility this whole time.”

Carnes said Barnett had offered to plead guilty and receive a life sentence since the case began.

“He would have pled guilty without having to go through a trial if the Lacys had agreed,” she said.

Garland Lacy, one of Randy Lacy’s brothers and a Powell County bailiff, said the Lacy family wanted to honor his slain sibling by not accepting a plea deal in a police officer’s murder.

“I don’t think that I would go back and undo it,” Garland Lacy said.

However, he said, the trial “has been like his funeral all over again.”

Jerry Barnett, Jamie Barnett’s brother, said the family is not satisfied with how the case unfolded. He said the Lacy family was “so hellbent on the death penalty, they wouldn’t come off of it.”

“They put their feelings in place and left justice out,” Jerry Barnett said.

The sentence agreement ended the nearly eight-day trial and cut short a day of dramatic testimony from family members of Lacy and Barnett.

Lacy’s widow took the stand Thursday morning to offer tearful testimony about her late husband. Ruth Lacy described the life that she shared for nearly 30 years with the man who loved playing his guitar, singing in church, cooking and fishing.

Ruth Lacy said she still struggles to live without her husband. She still keeps Randy’s reading glasses in his seat at the Clay City First Church of God because moving them would affirm that he will never come back. She has slept on the couch of her home since Randy Lacy was killed.

“I can’t even go to sleep in my bed at night knowing he’s not there with me,” she said.

Her testimony prompted sobs from both the Lacy and Barnett families.

Randy Lacy’s son, Arthur, known as “Little Randy,” testified that he saw his father on a daily basis as a Stanton police officer.

He put his head down and sobbed after he recalled hearing the call that his father was hurt. He was one of the first to arrive at the scene when Lacy was shot.

On his way to the scene, Arthur Lacy said he thought, “Oh God, please don’t let nothing happen to him.”

At one point, jurors passed around a roll of toilet paper to dab their tears. A bailiff wiped his face with a handkerchief.

The trial, which began July 10, had been moved to Montgomery County because of pretrial publicity in Powell County.

Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued that Barnett intentionally killed Lacy. Barnett even checked the gun to make sure it was loaded before he shot Lacy, according to testimony.

On Thursday, Herald also disclosed to the jury that Barnett had an extensive criminal history that spanned several counties and more than 14 years. Herald was previously forbidden from introducing Barnett’s record as evidence during the guilt phase of the trial.

Defense attorney Marcus Jones acknowledged that Barnett shot Lacy. But he characterized his client as a drug user who was heavily intoxicated the day Lacy died. Barnett had drunk a fifth of whiskey and taken cocaine and Percocet, Xanax and Lortab pills before Lacy arrested him, according to testimony.

It took the jury nearly 15 hours of deliberation on Tuesday and Wednesday to find Barnett guilty of wanton murder, the charge consistent with the defense’s argument that Barnett had been too intoxicated to be responsible for his actions. The decision spared Barnett the death penalty.

While on the stand, Garland Lacy told jurors that he hadn’t seen Barnett cry once during the day’s testimony. Powell Circuit Judge Frank Fletcher struck the statement from the record.

Garland Lacy said he was sorry the jury had to hear so much emotional testimony about his younger brother, who loved his family and volunteered in the community.

“He was a real person,” he said. “He wasn’t a robot. He was a real person. He was a police officer.”