INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – A Gary man sentenced to life in prison without parole is asking the Indiana Supreme Court whether a judge could have given him different sentence.
Robert Lewis III was found guilty in the rape and murder of a Griffith schoolteacher in October 2013. A deadlocked jury left the sentencing up to the judge, who said she was obligated to give Lewis life in prison without parole.
An attorney for Lewis said in written arguments to the state Supreme Court that the judge should have been able to give a term-of-years sentence, an option that the jury had.
The Times of Munster reports that the state attorney general's office, representing the prosecution, says there's no sign the judge saw a lesser sentence as better, and therefore the appeal is irrelevant.
The state Supreme Court was set to hear arguments Thursday.
