Friday, January 18, 2013

A local family is angry about the punishment in a deadly shooting.

Joshua Martin was sentenced for the shooting death of 23-year-old Nate Clark. And though Martin got the maximum, it won’t satisfy a grieving family.

"There was no justice and that's why we're supposed to have judges," said Billie Duncan who lost a nephew when Clark was killed on New Year’s Day 2012.

"This is what's going on in the streets of Wichita every day,” said Kelly Clark, the victim’s aunt. “People are getting shot and killed by the minute."

Clark and friends were driving away from a New Year’s party where a fight broke out. 25-year-old Joshua Martin was convicted of firing at the car Clark was in, striking the young man in the back.

"We wanted justice and we didn't get justice at all,” said grandmother Johnnie Clark. “They made a deal, a plea bargain."

Martin was originally charged with first-degree murder. He agreed to an amended plea of second-degree murder, which was negotiated between the district attorney’s office and Martin’s attorney. The murder victim’s family wanted the DA to try Martin with the higher charge.

"I imposed the maximum sentence allowed by law on each count and ran both of those counts consecutive to each other and consecutive to his old case so that he served the maximum sentence allowed by law on this case," said Sedgwick County District Court Judge Phil Journey.

Martin was sentence to 12 years and three months in prison. And though it’s the maximum, it’ll never be enough, says Clark’s family.

To avoid a potential confrontation, the victim’s family and the offender’s family were asked to leave the courtroom separately. Judge Journey says that no sentence can be imposed to right this wrong.