Killer seeks early release from prison

MUNCIE – Nearly a dozen years after he killed a man he said had sexually assaulted him during his childhood, Jeremiah D. Brown might be leaving prison.

Brown, now 33, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in March 2005 as part of a plea agreement that saw a murder charge dismissed.

Brown was 21 when he fatally stabbed James Seldomridge, 54, in the victim’s apartment in Muncie’s Old West End neighborhood in March 2004. The attack came a few days after Brown’s 18-year-old brother – also molested by Seldomridge when they were children, Brown would maintain – had taken his own life.

Then-Judge Wayne Lennington gave Brown a 40-year prison term, the maximum allowed under the terms of the plea bargain.

At a Tuesday hearing, Brown and his attorney, Don Dunnuck, tried to persuade the current judge of Delaware Circuit Court 5, Thomas Cannon Jr., to modify his client's sentence, allowing him to leave prison.

Testimony indicated Brown has earned two college degrees while incarcerated. He has also participated in numerous training and counseling programs, and counseled other young offenders.

“I’d like to say I’m not the young troubled individual I was once,” Brown told the judge. “I believe the person I am today has a lot more to offer.”

Brown said he was “very sorry and ashamed” for having caused Seldomridge’s death.

“Have you forgiven him?” Cannon asked the defendant.

“Yes,” Brown said, quietly, after a few seconds.

Dunnuck said it was “a feel-good moment... to see the influence the criminal justice system has had on an individual in a positive way.”

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Judi Calhoun, who participated in Brown’s 2005 prosecution, said the defendant “should be proud of what you accomplished.”

“Not everyone takes advantage of these programs,” she added.

Judge Cannon told Brown his list of accomplishments while in prison was likely “the most impressive” he had seen from an inmate seeking a sentence reduction.

“I think you’ve made me a believer,” the judge said. “Don’t make me regret it.”

Cannon said, however, he would not take formal action in the case until he determined whether Brown could be placed on electronic home detention in Marion County, where the inmate intends to live with his aunt.

If he modifies the sentence, Cannon told Brown he could expect to spend a period on home detention, to be followed by several years on probation.

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