LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - A judge is hearing evidence to determine whether a Topeka woman who was convicted of drugging and nearly beheading a Lawrence man should get a new sentence.
A two-day hearing began Monday in Douglas County District Court the case of Sarah Gonzales-McLinn, 25, who was convicted of killing Harold Sasko, 52, in his home on Jan. 17, 2014. She was sentenced in 2015 to life in prison with no chance of parole for 50 years.
Attorney Jonathan Sternberg, argued in his motion to vacate the sentence that Gonzales-McLinn’s counsel during the trial did not properly explain a plea agreement offer from prosecutors that would have resulted in her becoming eligible for parole in 25 years, The Lawrence Journal-World reported. He also raised four other issues from the first trial.
He argued that Gonzales-McLinn’s counsel did not adequately explain what a “Hard 50” sentence meant an her family didn’t hear about the plea offer until after the trial.
Assistant Douglas County District Attorney Kate Duncan Butler responded that the state agreed it was important to have a hearing to understand what Gonzales-McLinn understood about the plea but she argued against the other four points raised by Sternberg.
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