RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) - Attorneys for both the prosecution and the defense have reached an agreement to knock 15 years off the sentence of a Vermont man convicted of murder.
Rutland County State’s Attorney Rose Kennedy and Paul Volk, the attorney representing Eric Marallo, informed a judge Monday that they found that Marallo received ineffective counsel in his 2001 sentencing.
Marallo was sentenced to 45 years to life in jail for the killing of Dwayne Bernier, who was stabbed to death in the Dragon’s Leyr Tattoo Emporium in 1997. The agreement would reduce the minimum sentence to 30 years.
The agreement for resentencing was filed Jan. 21 and could be finalized this month, the Rutland Herald reported.
Time is a factor as Marollo must complete a risk-reduction program that takes six months and is next offered in March.
Marallo has been imprisoned since his 1998 arrest if the agreement is executed he will be eligible for release in 2028.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.