lulu
05-10-2003, 09:01 AM
AUSTIN -- Gov. Rick Perry on Friday commuted the sentence of a 27-year-old Copperas Cove man who went to prison despite helping the prosecution by testifying against two co-defendants.
The governor reduced the sentence of Jack Glyn Smith to time served. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles had voted 15-3 to recommend that the governor approve Smith's commutation request. Joining in the request were state District Judge Phillip Zeigler, Coryell County Sheriff Roger Faught and District Attorney Riley Simpson.
In exchange for Smith's guilty plea and testimony against two others charged in a 1994 aggravated robbery, prosecutors offered him a sentence of seven months in jail, two months in prison and 10 years on probation.
But when his attorney missed the deadline for filing a motion for a new trial, as had been anticipated under the plea agreement, the trial court lost jurisdiction and Smith began serving a 10-year prison term.
The governor's action means Smith will be released as soon as the Texas Department of Criminal Justice can process the paperwork.
The governor reduced the sentence of Jack Glyn Smith to time served. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles had voted 15-3 to recommend that the governor approve Smith's commutation request. Joining in the request were state District Judge Phillip Zeigler, Coryell County Sheriff Roger Faught and District Attorney Riley Simpson.
In exchange for Smith's guilty plea and testimony against two others charged in a 1994 aggravated robbery, prosecutors offered him a sentence of seven months in jail, two months in prison and 10 years on probation.
But when his attorney missed the deadline for filing a motion for a new trial, as had been anticipated under the plea agreement, the trial court lost jurisdiction and Smith began serving a 10-year prison term.
The governor's action means Smith will be released as soon as the Texas Department of Criminal Justice can process the paperwork.