TERRE HAUTE —
A Terre Haute man arrested in a June 2010 stabbing death was sentenced Wednesday to a class-C felony of battery with a deadly weapon as part of a plea agreement.
The guilty plea called for Charles Edward Decker, 24, to receive a sentence of eight years, four incarcerated and four suspended to formal probation.
Decker, who declined comment, was released after the court hearing as he had already served two years in the Vigo County Jail. Under state law, an inmate can receive one day off of a sentence for every day served without incident.
Decker originally had been charged with the murder of 24-year-old Scott Medley. Decker, who had admitted to stabbing Medley, had claimed self-defense since his arrest at an apartment in the 800 block of South Seventh Street. Decker told police he and his girlfriend were at the apartment with Medley drinking alcohol before the incident.
Decker said that Medley left the apartment, but soon returned and tried to force his way back into the apartment, and that is when the stabbing occurred.
A statement read in the court from the Medley family stated, “We, Scott’s family, feel Charles Decker deserves and should serve more time than what he might get.”
Robert E. Roberts, chief deputy prosecutor, said the letter was written by Medley’s mother, who was not in an emotional state to join other family members about a change in the original murder charge, which led to a plea agreement submitted to the court in May.
Roberts said DNA testing from a state police lab resulted in a “composite picture that was inconsistent” with statements from a witness and Decker.
Roberts said the inconsistencies “threw up a lot of wild cards that made a conviction [on murder] very uncertain in my opinion,” he said, as the state not only has the burden of proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt, but also the burden of disproving a claim of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.
“The plea resulted in a certain guilty verdict …,” Roberts said. “It means Mr. Decker now has a second felony conviction,” which would make him an habitual offender on any third offense, a charge that carries more severe penalties, Roberts said.
In addition, “this is classified as a serious violent felony, which prevents him from owning or possessing a firearm for the rest of his life. Just the mere possession of a firearm means he would face up to 20 years in prison,” Roberts said. “He will also have a period of supervision.”
Vigo Superior Court 1 Judge John Roach required Decker to enroll in and complete anger-management counseling and an alcohol and drug program, as well as obtain full-time employment or enroll in a community college and work part-time.
Roach, who accepted a plea agreement Wednesday, said numerous hours were devoted to the case. “This is an unusual case,” the judge said, but added that “the evidence justifies this result” of a class-C felony charge.
After the court hearing, Jim Organ, public defense attorney for Decker, said, “I thought it was pretty clear it was not murder. The case was fundamentally impacted by the forensics, not just the DNA, which limited options that could be made against self-defense.”
Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
News
Plea agreement reached in 2010 stabbing death
Charles Decker released after 2 years in jail
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