Opinion ID: 2344370
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Louis Crumpton.

Text: Summary: Crumpton, a thirty-six year old man living with AIDS, broke into a home to steal items. He was surprised by the victims, aged eighty-six and eighty-one. He beat the victims over the face, most likely with a blunt object. One victim was found dead and the other died four months later. After the State served its notice of aggravating factors, he pled guilty to two counts of felony murder and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms, with more than sixty-three years of parole ineligibility on each count. Comparison: Defendant suggests that Crumpton's life sentences indicate that defendant's sentence is disproportionately harsh. Defendant points out that the victims in Crumpton's case were older, and therefore more vulnerable. Defendant further suggests that there was no indication that Crumpton, while ill with AIDS, suffered any psychiatric disease. The State points out that Crumpton did not know his victims would be home, and that Crumpton suffered from AIDS and drug addiction. Defendant's entry into the Hazards' home knowing someone was home increases his moral blameworthiness sufficiently to justify the difference in result between Crumpton and defendant, a distinction further highlighted by the fact that Crumpton suffered from AIDS and drug addiction.