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June 13, 2014
“That’s it, he’ll never get out of jail.”
Those were the first words Assistant District Attorney Keith Blackwood said to the family of murder victim Tammy Stokes after her killer was sentenced to consecutive life sentences on Tuesday.
In May, after Circuit Court Judge Ben Brooks declared a mistrial in the first murder trial, a second jury convicted Isaac “Ike” Washington of killing Stokes in the spring of 2008. The case was cold for more than three years before Washington, 36, and co-defendant Dwayne Pettaway were arrested and charged with the 24-year-old mother of two’s death.
On Tuesday, Stokes’ daughters were in court and in a letter addressed the man Blackwood said put a shotgun to their mother’s face and pulled the trigger. In addition to “Why did you kill our mom,” and “she was the key to our hearts,” Jasmine and Alexcia Bush wrote, “We don’t like evel and cruel people like you.”
Blackwood read the letter in court, just before asking Brooks to sentence him in a way that would guarantee, even if the Legislature changed the laws on parole, Washington would live out his life behind bars.
“He should never see the outside world again,” Blackwood told the judge.
Brooks agreed, and sentenced Washington to life without parole for the felony murder conviction, and life for second-degree kidnapping, a lesser included charge the jury felt he was guilty of. Those sentences, Brooks ordered, were to be served consecutively, along with the 20-year sentence he’s currently serving.
In all, Washington has been convicted of five felonies, according to the pre-sentencing investigation.
Even knowing, barring a successful appeal, that her daughter’s killer will never again be free, Cherry Stokes was somewhat disappointed at the outcome.
“I really wanted to watch him die,” Stokes said. “But, maybe being caged like an animal is good enough.
“As long as he don’t get on the streets, there’s no telling how many more he’s hurt before Tammy.”
During the trials, the prosecution told the jurors how Washington and Dwayne Pettaway took Stokes, who was in the trunk of their car, out to a deserted piece of property in Grand Bay. Washington thought Stokes had, as a confidential informant for police, shared information about a relative of his.
And for that, he killed her, Blackwood said.
Bucky Thomas, Washington’s attorney, maintained throughout that it was Pettaway who took Stokes out of the trunk and shot her. But the second jury seemed to give more weight to the co-defendant’s testimony.
For his part as Washington’s accomplice, on May 22 Brooks sentenced Pettaway to 25 years prison.
In asking the judge for a non-consecutive sentence for Washington, Thomas pointed out that, like Stokes, his client also has two children.
