Alex Callison sentenced to 88 years for rape and confinement

First and foremost, I wish to state that I am in no way advocating the disgusting acts that this man has plead guilty to. I am posting this, because I feel that his prison sentence is excessively harsh, which in turn sends the wrong message to would-be assailants.

Here is some of the original article, after his arrest, from Greene County Daily World- Nov. 2010. There are more details of his crimes, within this article.

The rural Bloomfield man accused of the multiple rape and sexual deviant conduct acts forced on a 78-year-old woman during a robbery at her home was formally charged on nine felony counts in Greene Superior Court on Friday morning.

Alex C. Callison, 28, is accused of breaking into the woman's home and carrying out a variety of sex acts during the early morning hours of Oct. 28 with the incident stretching into the afternoon.

He is also accused of stealing $500 in cash, whiskey and several Hydrocodone prescription pills from the victim.

Now the recent article, after his sentencing hearing, Greene County Daily World- Friday, Mar. 4th, 2011.

The wheels of justice turned tough Friday on Alex C. Callison.

When Greene Superior Court Judge Dena Martin pronounced the sentence on each of four criminal counts, she ruled that the sentences will be served consecutively, or one after the other.

During a change of plea and sentencing hearing early Monday, Callison entered a plea of guilty to, and was sentenced to:
* Burglary, a class A felony, 47.5 years (the maximum allowed by law is 50 years)
* Rape, a class B felony, 19 years (maximum of 20 years)
* Criminal deviate conduct, a class B felony, 19 years (maximum of 20 years)
* Intimidation, a class D felony, 2.5 years (maximum of 3 years)

The case initially filed against Callison included five other criminal counts which were dismissed under the terms of a negotiated plea agreement. The agreement left sentencing up to the discretion of the judge.

He pleads guilty, in order to minimize the time and expenses spent by the court system, in exchange for some of the charges being dismissed. Then they basically just max out the sentences for the other charges. 47.5 years for burglary!

The State's case was argued by Greene County Deputy Prosecutor Keven McIntosh.

"I do not think that Callison is just a predator. I think this incident was fueled by drugs and alcohol," said McIntosh. "Appearances can be deceiving, but in court, he seemed remorseful. And by admitting guilt, he did save us going through a trial."

This^^, is in no means, a reasonable excuse for his actions. Although I do think that this should be, at least partially, considered.


I am sure this woman is emotionally scarred, and I sincerely empathize for her. Some may instantly conclude that no sentence is harsh enough. There could also possibly be an appeal and a reduced sentence in the future, but as of now, that would be pure speculation. I would also place some of the blame of the excessive sentence on his defense(Public Defender). Those are not the points I am trying to convey.

It is my opinion, that this harsh sentence, sends a very significant message. I do not say that in a positive manner. To me, the message that this excessive sentence sends is this -

IF you commit a crime such as this, it would be in your own best interest to eliminate the witness. You would then have less of a chance of getting caught. If you are caught, the case will not be as strong against you. It is likely that the sentence would not be much, if any, more severe even IF you are caught and found guilty. Many have been convicted of murder and received a much lighter sentence than this.


related source- www.wishtv.com... Additional information in this article, states how he was not in a normal frame of mind, due to pills and alcohol.

Callison also told deputies he was under the influence of alcohol and pills and at times claimed he could not remember. After giving some details, Callison began to cry and asked for an attorney at which point the interview ended.

This woman, did not immediately come forward.

The incident was not reported to State Police until Oct. 31 because the victim feared her attacker would kill her and her family, according to court records.

To me, this even further illustrates the point I am trying to make. For example- IF a similar crime had been committed last night by someone who was out of their mind on drugs. IF they woke up today, and realized/remembered what they had done. IF the victim did not immediately report it to anyone. then...........

Messed up. Why would anyone rape a 78-year-old?

reply to post by strato


Not that this makes it any less messed up, but in an interview with the police, he said he remembered entering the house. He said he met a woman in her 40s or 50s. He remembered eating and drinking inside the house.

To do that to a 78 year old woman there is no punishment severe enough. Next to murder rape is one of the worst things one person can do to another. And the drugs and alcohol as an excuse are just a cop out.

reply to post by buster2010


you are missing the point.
As I stated, it is not an excuse. I also stated that some would jump to this exact same conclusion that you have.

The point I am trying to make is that the harshness of this sentence could possibly encourage future assailants of a similar crime, to just go ahead and eliminate the witness.

I understand OP's point, and i do agree.

The assailant committed an unforgivable crime and the sentence is fitting.

however

he admitted guilty, was not of sound mind when the incident took place and left the woman alive.

What the justice system have shown similar criminals is that you can get a better deal with making sure there are no survivors and admitting you're guilty isn't worth anything.

There should be a proper correctional facility involved in this case somewhere. Not just prison, prison don't solve problems, it just helps keep it out of sight, for the comfort of the rest of us.

Originally posted by BrokenCircles
reply to post by buster2010

 

you are missing the point.
As I stated, it is not an excuse. I also stated that some would jump to this exact same conclusion that you have.

The point I am trying to make is that the harshness of this sentence could possibly encourage future assailants of a similar crime, to just go ahead and eliminate the witness.

Do you think criminals stop to think about what sentence they may receive if they are caught doing a crime?

reply to post by buster2010


This woman did not report the incident until 3 days later.
I am saying that if the next day, if he had woke up and known that he was going to receive 88 years. He very likely could have walked right back next door, and eliminated the witness. Then cleaned his tracks.

I am just looking at it from a different viewpoint. As i stated in my first sentence of the OP- I am not in any way advocating this disgusting act.

She is still alive. If she wasn't, his sentence even possibly could have been less. I know a guy who used a shotgun vs. a head. He was out in 7 years. Even with good behavior, at the minimum, this guy will be out in 44.

Honestly I was about to write a post saying how the guy should have gotten life... but you actually made me think.

Assuming criminals do consider the possible punishment, it does seem like there would be no reason to leave your victim alive when the punishment would be no worse for murder than it would for whatever else you did.

I don't know, I'm still pretty torn on this, I definitely have to think more about it.

reply to post by James1982


Thank you for stating that. That is the point I am trying to make.

I will say this over and over- I do not agree with this crime. I cannot even completely understand exactly why it happened. I do empathize for this woman, and her family, but she is alive.

I read this last fall when it happened, and I was disgusted by it. Then recently seeing that he received 88 years. it just made me think of many murderers who have gotten less time. So in comparison, it just doesn't seem right to me. Also, if you look, he only got 19 years for the rape. 47.5 years was for burglary.

So long as there is conclusive DNA and other supporting evidence, I'd love to see this kind of crime carry a mandatory death sentence. I am tried of seeing people like this get sentenced to being burden on the taxpayers for decades and decades after their crime. I say firing squad or guillotine for crimes where there is a direct victim who is physically violated, injured, or killed. That would drastically eliminate the number of people willing to carry out such acts, and it would eliminate the tax burden so long as journey from the court room to the death chamber was shortened and appeals limited to one.

reply to post by BrokenCircles


...your point, which many share, was also used in the debate a few years ago on whether or not raping a child should be considered a capital crime...

...imo, your point gives WAY too much credit to the criminally minded by falsely presuming that they are going to have a debate with themselves on whether or not killing their victim might lessen their chance of getting caught or influence their sentencing if they're caught and convicted... if they were truly worried about the aftermath, they wouldnt commit the crime in the first place...

...i think alex callison's sentencing was appropriate... why should he get a break in his sentencing just because he pled guilty and sobered up?... he didnt give that old lady a break... besides, he's a repeater that escalated his violence while on parole...

gcdailyworld.com...

Callison's criminal history was also brought out -- he had one previous conviction on his record, a class C felony burglary involving a break-in at a barber shop in Daviess County. Callison was on parole for that conviction when the current crime was committed.

...he's scum that'll do 44yrs if he behaves himself... thats more of a break than he deserves...

Anyone who rapes or molests should either be locked away forever or killed.

reply to post by Wyn Hawks

Originally posted by Wyn Hawks

 

...imo, your point gives WAY too much credit to the criminally minded by falsely presuming that they are going to have a debate with themselves on whether or not killing their victim might lessen their chance of getting caught or influence their sentencing if they're caught and convicted...

WAY too much credit? I am unsure what you mean. Are you saying that all criminals are complete idiots, and none are capable of rational thought?

if they were truly worried about the aftermath, they wouldnt commit the crime in the first place...

I shall create a completely fictional, hypothetical example.

It is Wednesday night. George decides to drink some whiskey. Nothing has been going right for him lately. George downs a bottle of whiskey rather quickly. He had also, already consumed a few xanax. He is beginning to feel a bit drowsy, so he decides he will do some meth so that he can stay awake. George basically just blacks out after this....

Late into Thursday evening, George awakens with a very intense headache. He has slept all day (maybe...he's really not sure). He cannot remember much about the previous night. He is looking for some aspirin to help out his headache. He looks on the top of his dresser, and finds a bottle of hydrocodone. "What the....." "where did these come from," George thinks to himself. At this time, George's memory starts to reveal some details of the previous night. "Oh my god, what have I done?" George nervously tries to remember more details, and more are coming back to him. "I remember reading in the news about that Alex guy. How could I have done this exact same thing?" "What is wrong with me? but also, why have the cops not been here? Is it possible she is too scared to tell anyone? There is only one witness who could point the finger at me. I wonder what I could do to change that into zero witnesses."