Boyd did not apologize or even address the families while the families of fatal carjacking victims Channon Christian, 21, andChristopher Newsom, 23, praised prosecutors Tracy Stone and DavidJennings.
Calling him a dangerous criminal, a federal judge today sentencedEric Dewayne “E” Boyd to the maximum 18-year prison term for being anaccessory to a fatal carjacking.
“Simply put, the defendant shows a lack of regard for the law,” U.S.District Judge Tom Varlan said late this afternoon. “It’s necessary toseparate the defendant from the public to prevent future crimes and toprotect the public.”
Varlan’s decision is a rare one. Although the U.S. Supreme Court hasin the last few years given federal judges wider sentencing latitude,most continue to use a mathematical calculation known as sentencing guidelines.
Varlan deemed Boyd’s crime so heinous and his history so violentthat he imposed a sentence that technically fell outside Boyd’sguideline range. It’s a move federal judges employ, particularly in theEastern District of Tennessee.
The families of fatal carjacking victims Channon Christian, 21, andChristopher Newsom, 23, praised prosecutors Tracy Stone and DavidJennings. Their attention now turns to the state court system acrossthe street, where four people face charges of murder and a possibledeath sentence in the January 2007 crime.
Defense attorney Phil Lomonaco argued that Boyd had merely harboredslaying suspect Lemaricus Davidson and had not actively aided andabetted him, a key distinction in terms of punishment.
By Lomonaco’s account, Boyd should have faced only three to four years in prison.
Prosecutor Jennings, however, argued that Boyd, who committed aseries of violent robberies in 1994 and while in prison racked upseveral criminal offenses behind bars – including assault andthreatening a guard – rates far more punishment than federal law on theaccessory charge allows.
“I’ve never seen a case which more precisely laid out the need formaximum sentencing,” Jennings said. “It’s only 18 years. That’s all youcan do for the citizens of Knox County. That’s what you need to do.”
Varlan’s sentence came after hours of arguments, emotional testimonyfrom the families of Christian, and Newsom, and Boyd’s rambling accountof the events leading up to this arrest.
“I did not do none of this, man,” Boyd told Varlan before the sentence was announced.
Boyd did not apologize or even address the families. Moments beforehe addressed the judge, Channon Christian’s father, Gary Christian,addressed him.
“I hate you,” Gary Christian said. “My son hates you. My wife hatesyou. I’ve not prayed since the day you were arrested. Today, I’m goingto pray but don’t you think for a second I’m praying for you.”
The sentencing hearing got under way this morning with the testimony that Boyd’s criminal history was underrated.