Court upholds sentence in inmate's slaying

NEW CASTLE – The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld the 13-year sentence of a felon who killed a fellow inmate at the New Castle Correctional Facility.

Taylor J. Baughn, 22, of Evansville, was at first charged with murder in the Valentine's Day 2013 death of 37-year-old Jeremiah K. Taylor, but later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge, aggravated battery.

A plea agreement set a 15-year "cap" on Baughn's sentence. Henry Circuit Court 2 Judge Kit Crane last July sentenced Baughn to 13 years in prison, to be followed on two years on probation.

In an appeal, Baughn contended his sentence was overly harsh "in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender."

In a 3-0 ruling last week, the appeals panel found that Baughn's 13-year sentence was appropriate.

The judges noted that Baughn had launched a planned attack on Taylor, from behind, at the bottom of a NCCF stairwell. The victim fell to the floor and was struck 2-3 more times by his assailant, suffering skull fractures that caused his death.

In reviewing Baughn's character, the panel noted he was incarcerated at age 15 after being accused of sexually abusing a child. In 2011, seven months after his release from the Indiana Boys School, Baughn was charged with and later convicted of molesting another child, this time drawing a four-year prison term.

The judges also said Baughn had admitted "drinking prison-made alcohol while incarcerated," and that a risk assessment system had scored the Evansville man's "overall risk to reoffend as high."

Baughn is now held at the Miami Correctional Facility north of Kokomo.

Homicide victim Taylor was also serving a sentence for child molesting, imposed in Noble County.

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.