Post by LUECKE on May 18, 2009 16:06:54 GMT -5
TELL CITY – Children of a former Perry County woman now dying of cancer took to the streets of Tell City Thursday, hoping to build public support for their efforts to have her released from the Indiana Women's Prison.
Sherry Hamlet, 45, is serving a 20-year sentence for dealing in a controlled substance and maintaining a common nuisance. Under a plea agreement she agreed to in late 2007, Hamlet was to serve 10 of the 20 years in prison and the remainder on probation. She was charged in May 2007 after police searching a home in the 1200 block of 11th Street found her in possession of marijuana, paraphernalia and prescription painkillers, including oxycodone, hydrocodone and Percocet. Police also found tablets of the psychedelic drug commonly known as Ecstasy.
Daughter Leighann Barnes said Hamlet has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has just weeks to live. Her attorney has filed a request for an emergency modification of Hamlet's sentence to allow her to spend her final days close to family.
County Prosecutor Robert Collins filed a motion opposing the modification. In his objection, Collins points to the plea agreement signed by Hamlet that requires her to serve the prison portion of the sentence and five years of probation before seeking to have the sentence modified by the court.
Family members said their mother wants hospice care in Maryland, where the six children live.
They held up signs and passed out fliers Thursday in front of the prosecutor's office on Main Street and at the busy intersection of 12th and Tell streets.
Siblings carried messages such as "Mr. Robert Collins, Have a Heart" and "She needs a hospital, not a prison."
Barnes said her mother is receiving medical care from the Indiana Department of Correction but said she wants to be closer to family. "She wants to be around her children, those who love her," she said.
Family members have been visiting their mother and said she is weak and has already lost 50 pounds.
A hearing on the request for a sentence modification has been scheduled for June 29.
Judge Lucy Goffinet or Magistrate Karen Werner will have the final say on whether to modify the sentence.
Sherry Hamlet, 45, is serving a 20-year sentence for dealing in a controlled substance and maintaining a common nuisance. Under a plea agreement she agreed to in late 2007, Hamlet was to serve 10 of the 20 years in prison and the remainder on probation. She was charged in May 2007 after police searching a home in the 1200 block of 11th Street found her in possession of marijuana, paraphernalia and prescription painkillers, including oxycodone, hydrocodone and Percocet. Police also found tablets of the psychedelic drug commonly known as Ecstasy.
Daughter Leighann Barnes said Hamlet has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has just weeks to live. Her attorney has filed a request for an emergency modification of Hamlet's sentence to allow her to spend her final days close to family.
County Prosecutor Robert Collins filed a motion opposing the modification. In his objection, Collins points to the plea agreement signed by Hamlet that requires her to serve the prison portion of the sentence and five years of probation before seeking to have the sentence modified by the court.
Family members said their mother wants hospice care in Maryland, where the six children live.
They held up signs and passed out fliers Thursday in front of the prosecutor's office on Main Street and at the busy intersection of 12th and Tell streets.
Siblings carried messages such as "Mr. Robert Collins, Have a Heart" and "She needs a hospital, not a prison."
Barnes said her mother is receiving medical care from the Indiana Department of Correction but said she wants to be closer to family. "She wants to be around her children, those who love her," she said.
Family members have been visiting their mother and said she is weak and has already lost 50 pounds.
A hearing on the request for a sentence modification has been scheduled for June 29.
Judge Lucy Goffinet or Magistrate Karen Werner will have the final say on whether to modify the sentence.