Chad Phillips’ murder conviction upheld

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The murder conviction of Chad Phillips still stands after a unanimous decision by the Ohio Third District Court of Appeals affirming his conviction.

Phillips, who shot and killed Chris McMillen on May 12, 2011, at an apartment on Fox Road, pleaded guilty on November 10, 2011, to one count of aggravated murder. Three other counts: attempted murder, aggravated burglary and felonious assault, as well as handgun and other specifications, were dismissed in exchange for Phillips’ guilty plea.

Phillips was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 30 years, on December 15, 2011, but then appealed that sentence on constitutional and other grounds.

The appeal, filed by attorney Kenneth Wexford, asserted that Van Wert County Common Pleas Judge Charles D. Steele applied unconstitutional and ambiguous sentencing laws in sentencing Phillips, while adding that Phillips’ guilty plea was not “knowing, voluntary and intelligent.”

As part of that appeal, Wexford argued that, since Phillips was not alleged to have committed the murder with any aggravating circumstance, he should have been sentenced to a term of life in prison, without parole for 20 years.

The attorney also claimed that the Ohio General Assembly violated the separation of powers doctrine by improperly delegating to the judiciary the power to determine parole eligibility without reasonable standards, which violated Phillips’ “due process” rights under both the Ohio and U.S. constitutions.

Wexford also argued that the lack of standards for determining parole eligibility resulted in a sentence “that amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, as random sentencing is cruel and unusual.”

The appellate court decision, written by Judge Richard Rogers and affirmed by Judges Vernon Preston and John Willamowski, rejected the idea that an aggravating circumstance was necessary for a sentence of life imprisonment without parole for 30 years. “…we find no fatal ambiguity is replete with references that it (the statute used to sentence Phillips) applies only where the State has alleged the aggravating circumstances specification of a previous conviction,” Judge Rogers wrote.

Because of its finding that the statute used to sentence Phillips was properly used, the appellate decision then rejected his claims that the statute violated equal protection and due process.

In addressing other claims in the appeals, the appellate judges rejected Phillips’ assertion that it was erroneous for the trial court to accept his change of plea without informing him of his lack of eligibility for probation and community control sanctions, noting that Judge Steele, in sentencing Phillips, had informed him specifically of his rights, including the fact that none of the sentencing options for aggravated murder included the possibility of immediate probation or community control being applied.

Under the law, aggravated murder carries penalties of life imprison, either without the possibility of parole, or with the possibility of parole after 20, 25 or 30 years.

The appellate decision particularly noted the exchange between Judge Steele and Phillips during sentencing. “This exchange plainly shows that Phillips was aware that his guilty plea necessitated that he serve a term of life imprisonment,” Judge Rogers said. “…Phillips’ knowledge of his mandatory prison term also created an understanding that he was ineligible for community control sanctions.

“Consequently, the trial court’s failure to explicitly inform Phillips of his lack of eligibility does not constitute reversible error,” Judge Rogers concluded.