Indiana appeals court extends prison term for convicted rapist who sought reduction
By APWednesday, March 31, 2010
Indiana court extends convicted rapist’s sentence
INDIANAPOLIS — A convicted rapist who asked the Indiana Court of Appeals to reduce his sentence instead got it extended by 25 years.
Thirty-five-year-old Jeffrey Akard of Peru, Ind., had asked the judges to reduce his 93-year sentence to 40 years.
Instead they extended it to 118 years, citing the heinousness of Akard’s crime; he held a homeless woman captive, zapped her with a stun gun and repeatedly raped her.
A state Supreme Court ruling last year reserved the power to increase sentences in unusual cases and noted the court had never done so.
Akard’s attorney didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment Wednesday.
Information from: Journal and Courier, www.jconline.com
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