CASSOPOLIS — In the Cass County Circuit Courtroom in Cassopolis Wednesday, 18 people wore pins on their chests. On the pins were the face of Rebecca Lynn Stowe.

The 18 court attendees sat back-right of Robert Eugene Leamon, of Niles, who has spent about 22 years in prison for murdering Stowe in 1993.

Court testimony from the original trial found that Stowe was pregnant at the time of the murder, and wanted to give birth to their baby. Leamon wanted Stowe to have an abortion. She refused, so Leamon grabbed her, likely breaking her neck, then dragged her to a hole he dug and filled it back up.

She was 15 then. He was 16.

Now Leamon is 42, and after two days of hearings, he may serve a shorter sentence than his 1997 life in prison without parole sentencing.

The hearings stem from the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in “Miller v. Alabama,” which reversed a law allowing juveniles to be sentenced life in prison for murder.

A 2016 Supreme Court ruling in “Montgomery v. Louisiana” added retroactivity to the ruling. That allowed about 200 inmates serving juvenile life sentences to be considered by local courts for resentencing.

Each local court was required to make a recommendation as to whether a criminal should be considered for resentencing or not. Leamon was chosen in 2016.

If Leamon is approved, he could go to the parole board to be considered for parole. That, said presiding Judge Mark A. Herman, could take a few years.

Leamon will also have to serve about three more years in prison, as Michigan law requires new sentencings in relation to “Montgomery v. Louisiana” to have a minimum 25-year sentence.

Although no sentencing decisions were made in the first hearing Wednesday, both prosecuting attorney Victor Fitz and defense attorneys Sofia Nelson and Tina Olson made their cases as to why Leamon should not be and should be given a more lenient sentence.

 

Defense argues Leamon is a new man

Nelson and Olson made the case that Leamon had learned from what he called his “heinous” actions and had become a better person.

When Nelson called Leamon as a witness, she spent time having him describe his crimes, abuses and poor decisions and whether he regretted each one. Leamon said he did.

“I feel absolute disgust. I feel ashamed and regret nothing more than taking Becky’s life,” he said. “I’m ashamed that I didn’t handle my fears about a teenage pregnancy in a healthy manner.”

Leamon also expressed regret towards Stowe’s family, which he never apologized to.

“To the Stowe family, I apologize,” he said. “I’m sorry that you’ve had to come here today and relive these painful memories that I’ve created in your life. I know that there’s nothing I could ever say or do that would ease the pain, the suffering, the heartache, the emotional trauma and the grief that I put your family through and that you live and experience every day.”

Nelson then focused on Leamon’s time in prison, where she claimed he made great strides to become a better person and share what he learned to help others.

She then had him describe the numerous programs he was or is part of in prison.

He took a prisoner-college student college class on social justice. He was a member of a program that helped greyhound dogs get acclimated to home life instead of racing. He took mediation training, which he later used to help dismantle tensions and violence in prison, notably among racial lines.

He also spoke of his two jobs in prison. He works to monitor and talk down those on suicide watch lists. He also facilitates discussions ranging from mental health help to conflict resolution with other prisoners.

The programs, he said, taught him to be a real man, which had the following traits: love, kindness, honesty, communication and the ability to seek help when needed.

The defense team brought Adam Burgess, of Muskegon, to the stand. Burgess, who is now on parole and employed, was in numerous classes with Leamon and said he was respectful, positive and well-liked by prison staff.

Nelson also had Leamon describe a book published in 2014 he co-wrote with three other prisoners: “Memoirs Into Four Convicted Murderers: Insight Into Youth Development.” His chapter in the book, he said, helped him tell the murder honestly instead of through lies while also helping prevent other youth from going down a similar path.

“My purpose is to contribute in an environment that is violent in a positive manner, to be a leader in community, to help others find the best in themselves, to be an example that change is possible,” he said.

 

Prosecution argues Leamon still self-centered, deceptive

When Leamon was called as a witness by the defense team, the murderer admitted his self-centeredness in killing Stowe to make his life easier, then keeping Stowe’s death a secret, leading her family on a 27-month hunt to find her.

He also admitted to lying to officials during investigations and trials by saying the murder was accidental. He said he did this out of fear of being punished.

Fitz, the prosecutor, worked to extend Leamon’s admitted self-centeredness past his youth and first years in prison.

When cross-examining Leamon, Fitz brought up the murderer’s co-authored book as well, focusing on the latter half of its title, “Insight Into Youth Development.”

He pressed Leamon to answer whether his chapter in the book was used to better help himself achieve parole.

“You’re telling us you’re not deceiving us with this thing?” Fitz said, pointing to Leamon’s book. “No? Just by coincidence, you never told Diane [Stowe’s mother]. You just decided now is a good time, after ‘Miller v. Alabama’ has come out.”

Leamon denied the connection, but he did admit he was aware of the court cases while the book was being written.

“Now that you know if you’re just looked at as a kid, as just a youth development and a troubled kid from a family where you got beat up and things like that, you think that you can get out at some point,” he said.

Fitz also questioned why Leamon waited until Wednesday to apologize, through tears, to Stowe’s family.

The prosecutor argued that Leamon had never formally apologized to the family because it would ruin the appeals he had made while in prison.

Non-criminal, but allegedly offensive, actions from Leamon’s past were also brought up during Fitz’s cross examination, including the then-teenager killing frogs, a dog and gophers on his extended family’s property.

He also talked about Leamon’s relationship with Angela Crocker, whom Leamon had a relationship with after murdering Stowe until a short time after heading to prison.

Crocker, a witness, said Leamon had abused her by slapping her and putting her into a headlock, which Crocker said she later compared to the way he had possibly killed Stowe.

“I felt ashamed,” said Leamon when asked how he felt about what Crocker said. “I felt disgusted, hurt and sad.”

Leamon used his three witnesses to emphasize the fear that many still feel toward Leamon. Crocker; friend to Stowe, Jacqueline Kizer; and sister to Stowe, Cynthia Slates all said they would fear Leamon would come after them if he were released.

Fitz said that Leamon’s wanting to be placed on parole was self-centered because it instilled fear in others that he has apologized to.

Fitz will continue his cross examination Thursday during the second day of hearings.