A man will serve 23 years in prison after pleading guilty to shaking, squeezing and throwing his baby girl, causing injuries that killed her.
Jamison C. Hendley, 25, who previously lived in Franklin, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to battery resulting in death on a child under 14 years old.
Johnson County Superior Court 2 Judge Peter Nugent sentenced Hendley to 25 years total, with two years on probation and 23 years in prison, with credit for more than two years served in jail.
Nugent also ordered that Hendley serve his sentence in a state facility that will allow him access to mental health treatment. Hendley’s case had been put on hold in 2016 when he was deemed not competent to stand trial. He was sent to Logansport State Hospital for treatment and was later released and deemed fit to stand trial.
“What happened here are as awful of circumstances as any parent can imagine,” Nugent said.
“Everything about this case is hard and nobody walks out of this courtroom today in any way, shape or form happy. It’s awful.”
In October 2015, Hendley had been watching the baby at the Franklin apartment he shared with his then-girlfriend, the baby’s mother, while she was at work. When the baby’s mother returned from work, she found the child was not breathing right and took her to the hospital. Doctors found the baby had bruising and a serious brain injury. She died days later.
Prosecutor Brad Cooper had asked Nugent to sentence Hendley to the maximum amount allowed under the law — 30 years in prison. He also compared Hendley’s case to a previous one in Johnson County, where a man had been sentenced by former Judge Cynthia Emkes to the maximum amount after shaking his infant child, a sentence that was appealed and upheld by the court, he said.
“Hendley was in the ultimate position of trust. Hendley destroyed that trust by shaking her, by throwing her,” Cooper said.
“He may not be the worst person to come before this court, but in the words of Judge Emkes, ‘his actions are the worst that could come before this court.’”
Cooper pointed out that Hendley did not call for help and did not tell anyone, including the baby’s mother, what had happened and that he did not go to the hospital with the baby. During questioning in his sentencing hearing, Hendley said he didn’t go to the hospital because he was afraid he would get into trouble.
Hendley also told police over the course of six days multiple versions of what happened to the baby, before finally telling investigators the truth, Cooper said.
After the baby died, an autopsy showed she died of blunt force trauma to her head, causing massive brain injuries, and also showed she had previous injuries, including bruising and fingerprints. State department of child services workers had also visited Hendley’s home when they previously lived in another county about suspicious marks on the baby. During questioning at the hearing, Hendley said he might have caused those injuries because he was too rough with his infant daughter.
Hendley told the court he was frustrated after being unable to soothe the baby, and he shook, squeezed and then threw his 2-month-old daughter across the room.
“I just wish I could go back and make things better. I just feel sorry, I really do,” Hendley said.
His attorney, James MacAbee, had argued for a shorter sentence, pointing out Hendley’s remorse, that he did not intend to hurt his daughter and that with treatment, he has a low risk of committing another crime, he said.
“With counseling, treatment and medication, the Jamison we saw that day is not likely to reappear,” MacAbee said.
Cooper disputed Hendley’s remorse, pointing out that he didn’t call for help after hurting his daughter, and then lied about what happened. He also pointed out that the baby was completely helpless, and relied entirely on Hendley for her care. And he noted that the baby’s mother had to make the decision to remove life support from her daughter after donating her organs.
Nugent said that Hendley should get more than the advisory sentence, based on the position of trust he had with his child.
“You were this baby’s safety net and not only did you not provide the safety net, you removed it and pushed her down it,” Nugent said.
