Statutes, prior decisions limit murder sentences
Friday, February 24, 2006 - Bangor Daily News

BANGOR - David Langway's sisters tearfully asked that their brother's killer be sentenced to life in prison. Jimmy Lipham's family members urged the judge to temper punishment with mercy in sentencing the convicted murderer.

Delicately balanced on the fine line in between, Maine Superior Court Justice Andrew Mead on Wednesday sentenced Lipham, 45, of Glenburn to 40 years in prison for killing Langway, 53, of Winterport on July 31, 2003.

In Maine, the minimum sentence for murder is 25 years and the maximum is life without the possibility of release. A death penalty has not been handed down in Maine in more than a century.

The process of determining what the punishment should be for taking a human life is not well-known or understood outside the state's legal community.

Read the full story: http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=129634

David Was A Friend Of Mine. I Am Disgusted By What This Jimmy Did To Him. Jimmy Deserves Alot More Than A Life Sentence.

its nice to see that some states still have options in murder sentences. many states its mandatory life without parole, or the death penalty.

whoever murders anyone should get a life sentence

Yeah well everything is not so cut and dry in this world, not everything is in black and white, there's a lot of gray out there. I don't know any of the circumstances in this case, and I'm sorry that someone lost thier life, but often justice is not served in either direction. Often over zealous prosecutors and law enforcement collar whoever makes the most sense, and people are convicted in this country every day without good cause. The jury system is an imperfect one that doesn't always require proof, no matter what the law says.

whoever murders anyone should get a life sentence



I can truly understand how someone could feel that a life sentence is deserved and in some cases I'm sure it is.

Please don't forget that there is someone who loves the offender despite the crime, just as you love the man you have in prison.

I try to be openminded when it comes to the victim's side and try to understand their pain, but there is pain on our side as well.

Please bear this in mind when making statements such as the one you made above.

Like I said justice is not served in either direction often times, the system is imperfect, and people on both sides get hurt undeservedly. That's why I don't like to see absolutes dealt out so easily. As heartbreaking as losing a loved one is, it is equally as heartbreaking to have a loved one lose thier life in a different way when they don't deserve it. Loss of life is terrible thing no matter what. I don't think you quite understood what I was trying to say.

I agree with Big Daddy, not every case is so cut and dry. Not every person convicted of murder deserves a life sentence.
Just think of the cost of incarcerating all murderers for life would have on the tax payers. It's hard enough already for states to fund their schools and other needed programs because such a huge chunk of our tax dollars goes to the DOC!

Ann

How easy it is to pass judgment. Every person I know that is holding someone down in prison has been on the receiving end of an unkind remark either about themselves or their loved one in prison, I certainly know I have. And how much more so when the one you love is incarcerated for murder.

I can honestly say that at one time I too was ignorant of the heartbreak that goes with this walk, the suffering of those incarcerated and the suffering of those who love them. This is not to discount or show no sensitivity to the victims. But while they have many sites to go to for support and can almost without fail count on support of the outside world, this type of support is not available to most of us. Thus the existence of PTO, a haven for myself and hundreds of others.

With that being said, the insanity of the life sentences handed out every day, dispensed like candy, is mind boggling. It is as if anyone handed this sentence will never be fit to inhabit our society again. They cannot, or will not change, they cannot be rehabilitated. How ridiculous is this??

It is beyond cruel to take hope away, and that is what a life sentence does, it seeks to remove hope in a heartless and uncaring manner. Is this really what we as a society want??? To say that all who commit a crime to warrant a life sentence is beyond redemption?

There is a woman in my state that was involved in a heinous crime back in the early 70s. Her husband was the real perpetrator and received the death penalty. The DA that prosecuted her never meant for her to spend the rest of her life in prison, yet there she sits to this day, denied parole again and again because of the crime. She is now an old woman who most likely is incapable of committing a crime. She is now too old to ever be able to support herself, so if she ever does make parole she will either continue to be a drain on the taxpayers because she will have to apply for some kind of government assistance, or her family will have to provide for her support, if she has any family available to do so. As she continues to age and grow more infirm, the cost of her incarceration will continue to mount. She is only one of many such instances in my state.

Did she deserve time? Most assuredly she did, but the remainder of her life?? There has to be a better way.

How easy it is to pass judgment. Every person I know that is holding someone down in prison has been on the receiving end of an unkind remark either about themselves or their loved one in prison, I certainly know I have. And how much more so when the one you love is incarcerated for murder.

I can honestly say that at one time I too was ignorant of the heartbreak that goes with this walk, the suffering of those incarcerated and the suffering of those who love them. This is not to discount or show no sensitivity to the victims. But while they have many sites to go to for support and can almost without fail count on support of the outside world, this type of support is not available to most of us. Thus the existence of PTO, a haven for myself and hundreds of others.

With that being said, the insanity of the life sentences handed out every day, dispensed like candy, is mind boggling. It is as if anyone handed this sentence will never be fit to inhabit our society again. They cannot, or will not change, they cannot be rehabilitated. How ridiculous is this??

It is beyond cruel to take hope away, and that is what a life sentence does, it seeks to remove hope in a heartless and uncaring manner. Is this really what we as a society want??? To say that all who commit a crime to warrant a life sentence is beyond redemption?

There is a woman in my state that was involved in a heinous crime back in the early 70s. Her husband was the real perpetrator and received the death penalty. The DA that prosecuted her never meant for her to spend the rest of her life in prison, yet there she sits to this day, denied parole again and again because of the crime. She is now an old woman who most likely is incapable of committing a crime. She is now too old to ever be able to support herself, so if she ever does make parole she will either continue to be a drain on the taxpayers because she will have to apply for some kind of government assistance, or her family will have to provide for her support, if she has any family available to do so. As she continues to age and grow more infirm, the cost of her incarceration will continue to mount. She is only one of many such instances in my state.

Did she deserve time? Most assuredly she did, but the remainder of her life?? There has to be a better way.

YOU HAVE TOTALLY SUMMED UP EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE BEEN FEELING FOR SO LONG. LIFE SENTENCES HAVE BEEN PASSED OUT LIKE CANDY....MY HUSBAND IS A VICTIM OF A LIFE SENTENCE AND NO ITS NOT EVEN MURDER OR DRUGS. HE IS 22YRS OLD HAS NO CRIMINAL HISTORY BUT WHEN HE WAS IN THE SACRAMENTO COUNTY HE HAD WITNESS 15 PEOPLE UNDER THE AGE OF 25 GET SENTENCE WITH LIFE AND THEY WERE NOT EVEN CONVICTED OF MURDER OR DRUG CRIMES....ITS REALLY SAD

...everything is not so cut and dry in this world, not everything is in black and white, there's a lot of gray out there...
VERY true words.

How about the reckless juvenile who takes a life but didn't stop to consider all the ramifications of the act, either for themselves or their victim? This kid who doesn't have a good realization about the concept of their own mortality? Should they be sentenced as an adult and locked up forever? I seriously question that.

But, there ARE some types of people I hope NEVER, EVER get out of prison. For example, at this point in science, you can't 'fix' serial killers......

YOU HAVE TOTALLY SUMMED UP EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE BEEN FEELING FOR SO LONG. LIFE SENTENCES HAVE BEEN PASSED OUT LIKE CANDY....MY HUSBAND IS A VICTIM OF A LIFE SENTENCE AND NO ITS NOT EVEN MURDER OR DRUGS. HE IS 22YRS OLD HAS NO CRIMINAL HISTORY BUT WHEN HE WAS IN THE SACRAMENTO COUNTY HE HAD WITNESS 15 PEOPLE UNDER THE AGE OF 25 GET SENTENCE WITH LIFE AND THEY WERE NOT EVEN CONVICTED OF MURDER OR DRUG CRIMES....ITS REALLY SAD


yes same for us he got more then 25 to life for a non murder or drug case first time in prison too,,,,,.....its crazy i understand he did need to do some time but they went overbord on us its very sad