GUILTY MO - Russell, 34, & Rebecca Porter, 46, Willard, 17 April 2011

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Sentencing of murder participant still up in the air

http://bransontrilakesnews.com/news_free/article_ff675494-876c-11e7-8a10-b34334354e33.html

According to Taney County Prosecutor Jeff Merrell, the DOC is refusing to allow the time Phillips spent in the DOC before his conviction to count toward his time served.

“They don’t give him credit for the three-and-a-half years in the Department of Corrections for felonious restraint,” Merrell said.

That means Friend’s plea deal is in jeopardy.

Now it’s in the hands of Judge Laura Johnson. One possibility is that Johnson might issue on order that Friend has served 3.5 years of his sentence, or she could reduce the length of his sentence.

Ultimately, if the plea deal cannot be made right, it’s possible that Phillip Friend’s case would have to go to trial, Merrell said.

From September:

Judge gives Campbell 2 life sentences

Robert Lee Campbell, 72, was sentenced to two life sentences by Jasper County Judge Gayle Crane after hearing arguments Monday, according to Taney County Prosecutor Jeff Merrell.

Campbell had been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, but the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder. Merrell, at the time of the conviction, said he was satisfied with the jury’s decision.

“This was the most difficult of the cases surrounding the murders of Russell and Rebecca Porter,” Merrell said at the time. “Convictions were never a guarantee in the case against Robert Campbell.”

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Sentence adjusted for final murder suspect

http://bransontrilakesnews.com/news/article_a3c370bc-9d71-11e7-bed3-b3b9622c39ea.html

Phillip Friend, who had served as a witness for the prosecution, was originally sentenced to 13 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for his two charges of second-degree murder, on top of seven years he had been sentence for felonious restraint. Those sentences were to run concurrently.

However, a problem arose when the DOC would not give Friend credit for time he had already served in the DOC, about three and a half years. They only gave Friend credit for the 18 months he had served in the county jail.

However, last week, Judge Johnson officially adjusted Friend’s sentence. He is now to serve 10 years for his two murder counts.

“The 10 year sentence – in light of the Dept. of Corrections’ refusal to give Mr. Friend credit for about 3 and 1/2 years of incarceration time – will nearly equate to the time he would serve on his 13 year sentence previously handed-down by Judge Johnson,” Merrell stated via email.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

February 2018:

Appeals court confirms double-murder conviction

Robert Campbell, 73, was sentenced to two life sentences after he was found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder by a jury in 2016. He was one of five people sentenced for the killing of Russell and Rebecca Porter, who were taken by force from their home in Willard, driven to Taney County and shot in April 2011.

Campbell’s conviction was on appeal, but on Wednesday, the Missouri Southern District Court of Appeals confirmed the guilty verdicts.