Alabama Man Gets 624-Year Sentence in Rape, Sodomy Case
An Alabama man who’s already serving a 100-year sentence for the rape of one woman has gotten another 624 years added to his sentence for the rape and sodomy of a second woman.
Mark Anthony Beecham, 25, got 99 years each on six counts of kidnapping, rape and robbery, the Dothan Eagle reports. He got another 20 years on a theft of property conviction and 10 more years for bail jumping.
Houston County Circuit Court Judge Kevin Moulton ordered Beecham’s sentence to run consecutive with any other sentence he is already serving. That includes a 100-year sentence for the rape and sodomy of another Alabama woman, but not the 20-year sentence he got for a kidnapping and rape in Florida.
Prior to sentencing, Beecham told the judge he didn’t think he had gotten a fair trial. “I believe I was denied a fair proceeding,” he said.
But Assistant District Attorney Banks Smith asked the judge for the maximum sentence.
“This is one of the rare cases where we get to see the face of evil,” he said. “He’s a serial rapist.”
Ohio State University law professor Douglas Berman, who posted an item about the case on his Sentencing Law and Policy blog, called it an example of the kind of sentence that is “so silly and extreme” it seems to undermine, rather than ensure, respect for the law.
