Agree! Also glad prosecutor didn’t drop the rape charge for his guilty plea- since he seemed to have a tougher time admitting the rape than he did the murder. Moo
GUILTY AR - Sydney Sutherland, 25, found deceased, Jackson Co., went for a jog, 19 Aug 2020 *ARREST* #2
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mlhenn
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Reporter’s notebook: How a quiet courtroom turned into tears and an eye-to-eye moment between the victim’s mom and killer | KARK
Oct 3; 3 hrs ago
Editor’s note: The name of the man convicted in this homicide was purposely left out of this article, as it is meant to focus on the victim’s family and statements made in court.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – In 19 minutes, a quiet courtroom turned into tears as a family spoke up for a voiceless Sydney Sutherland and a man’s life was ultimately spared in a surprise plea deal.
I am KARK 4 News anchor Mitch McCoy — I was in the courtroom Friday as a Jackson County judge accepted a plea deal negotiated between the defense and prosecutor. Below is a firsthand perspective to Friday’s hearing.
I arrived to the Jackson County Courthouse around 11:30 a.m. Friday, hoping our photojournalist was able to get video of the man charged in Sutherland’s kidnapping, rape and murder walking into the courthouse. I knew the plea deal had been negotiated, with the blessing of Sutherland’s family, and it would likely be the last time we would ever get video of the suspect again. I wanted to ask him, why? I wanted to know if he had any regrets. I wanted to know if he had any last words.
…
At approximately 12:15pm, family and friends of Sutherland arrived — in a group. There were too many to count. I could hear the footsteps coming up the steps from the first floor. Sutherland’s mother, Maggy, was leading the group. She had two friends by her side. They were locked in arms. The group went to the third floor as a dozen or so people remain outside the courtroom.
…
On the defense side, there were just a few people. Before the hearing started, court staff escorted family and friends of Sutherland into the courtroom which took up the first several rows. I estimated 60 or more people — most in the color pink.
The man charged in the case was escorted in by law enforcement. His wrists and feet shackled. His attorneys were there along with what I now know was his family. I had to look twice because the defendant’s appearance had significantly changed. He had lost weight since his arrest, his hair had been trimmed and he had no facial hair.
“All Rise,” a court bailiff announced at exactly 1pm, walking out of a door with a judge following behind.
…
The judge gave strict orders. Any outburst, he would throw you out.
…
The prosecutor said the plea deal was capital murder, a life sentence without the possibility of parole, and rape, another life sentence. The deal took the death penalty off of the table. The judge then went into procedural matters. He asked if the defendant was entering the plea voluntarily. The suspect replied with a “yes”.
…
Then, the victim impact statement.
Sutherland’s family, including some of her brothers, had a person read their statements to the defendant and court.
While the statements are being read, the defendant looked straight ahead, not looking or making eye contact with the reader. At times, he would look down at the table.
…
“Look at me in the eyes,” she said.
In one of the most powerful moments in court, the suspect slightly nodded his head up and down, turned around his chair while still cuffed and looked at Maggy in the eyes.
“Did she fight you? Did she cry? Did she ask for her brothers? Was it really worth it,” she said in a series of rapid questions.
…
The entire hearing lasted approximately 19 minutes. Yep. In less than 20 minutes, the victim’s family said what they wanted, a judge sentenced him to life in prison and we saw a powerful moment.
The article in its entirety can be found at the link above.
Oct 3; 3 hrs ago
Editor’s note: The name of the man convicted in this homicide was purposely left out of this article, as it is meant to focus on the victim’s family and statements made in court.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – In 19 minutes, a quiet courtroom turned into tears as a family spoke up for a voiceless Sydney Sutherland and a man’s life was ultimately spared in a surprise plea deal.
I am KARK 4 News anchor Mitch McCoy — I was in the courtroom Friday as a Jackson County judge accepted a plea deal negotiated between the defense and prosecutor. Below is a firsthand perspective to Friday’s hearing.
I arrived to the Jackson County Courthouse around 11:30 a.m. Friday, hoping our photojournalist was able to get video of the man charged in Sutherland’s kidnapping, rape and murder walking into the courthouse. I knew the plea deal had been negotiated, with the blessing of Sutherland’s family, and it would likely be the last time we would ever get video of the suspect again. I wanted to ask him, why? I wanted to know if he had any regrets. I wanted to know if he had any last words.
…
At approximately 12:15pm, family and friends of Sutherland arrived — in a group. There were too many to count. I could hear the footsteps coming up the steps from the first floor. Sutherland’s mother, Maggy, was leading the group. She had two friends by her side. They were locked in arms. The group went to the third floor as a dozen or so people remain outside the courtroom.
…
On the defense side, there were just a few people. Before the hearing started, court staff escorted family and friends of Sutherland into the courtroom which took up the first several rows. I estimated 60 or more people — most in the color pink.
The man charged in the case was escorted in by law enforcement. His wrists and feet shackled. His attorneys were there along with what I now know was his family. I had to look twice because the defendant’s appearance had significantly changed. He had lost weight since his arrest, his hair had been trimmed and he had no facial hair.
“All Rise,” a court bailiff announced at exactly 1pm, walking out of a door with a judge following behind.
…
The judge gave strict orders. Any outburst, he would throw you out.
…
The prosecutor said the plea deal was capital murder, a life sentence without the possibility of parole, and rape, another life sentence. The deal took the death penalty off of the table. The judge then went into procedural matters. He asked if the defendant was entering the plea voluntarily. The suspect replied with a “yes”.
…
Then, the victim impact statement.
Sutherland’s family, including some of her brothers, had a person read their statements to the defendant and court.
While the statements are being read, the defendant looked straight ahead, not looking or making eye contact with the reader. At times, he would look down at the table.
…
“Look at me in the eyes,” she said.
In one of the most powerful moments in court, the suspect slightly nodded his head up and down, turned around his chair while still cuffed and looked at Maggy in the eyes.
“Did she fight you? Did she cry? Did she ask for her brothers? Was it really worth it,” she said in a series of rapid questions.
…
The entire hearing lasted approximately 19 minutes. Yep. In less than 20 minutes, the victim’s family said what they wanted, a judge sentenced him to life in prison and we saw a powerful moment.
The article in its entirety can be found at the link above.
Seattle1
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evilwise
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He looks like he's already learned some things about life. Someone failed little Jeremy Davis and he became a dangerous man named Quake Lewellyn. I think, in a decade or two of prison education both academic and penal he will be able to make a reasonable appeal that he didn't understand the charges against him and maybe didn't even understand that what he did was wrong.
I think the only way he knew how to live his life was to do what people told him to do and when he became mature it caused him to bottle up all his own needs, feelings etc and on account of this he had psychotic outbursts. He really should have gotten counseling a long long time ago.
I think the only way he knew how to live his life was to do what people told him to do and when he became mature it caused him to bottle up all his own needs, feelings etc and on account of this he had psychotic outbursts. He really should have gotten counseling a long long time ago.
Seattle1
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Interesting. According to the Oxygen link, QL did what his family told him to do-- confess, enter the guilty plea.
“My client and his family are glad this is over,” Bill James, Lewellyn’s public defender, told Oxygen.com on Monday. “It started out as an accident and just kind of went bad from there. He didn’t want to put anyone through any more pain so he felt like this was the best thing for everyone.”
[..]
“We’re certainly very happy and thankful to the family of the Sutherlands,” James added. “They showed us mercy. Because the truth is, it was very likely going to head towards the death penalty. The pretrial publicity took over in a way I’ve never really been involved in before.”
[..]
James also commended Lewellyn’s family for cooperating with law enforcement — and for encouraging Lewellyn to confess.
“They took him up there, they told him to tell the truth, they told him to cooperate, and he did what they told him,” James said.
[..]
“He’s a pretty simple guy so he did what they told him,” James explained. “They could have certainly steered it a different way...The family took a lot of abuse and they didn’t do anything. Any animosity that anyone is feeling towards the family is misdirected.”
'Satan Is Real': Arkansas Man Handed Life Sentence For Jogger’s Rape And Murder | Oxygen Official Site
evilwise
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Don't get me wrong, it's monstrous that something like this can happen to a woman who's just out jogging and there's a big debt to society that needs to be paid but I think Lewellyn's appearance and demeanor had him pretty much convicted from the start when I suspect that what he is actually guilty of is first degree manslaughter and abuse of a corpse rather than murder and rape. I guess that is an argument better saved for appeal years down the road though.
SpringDonut77
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The First Degree did a good podcast episode this week with a woman that knew the murderer and also knew of Sydney The First Degree: Episode 189: Sydney Sutherland on Apple Podcasts
Dhighsmith
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He looks nothing like what he did when first arrested.