Defense to seek less prison time for Lasley in Meskwaki murder case

CEDAR RAPIDS - A defense attorney will argue sufficient prison time for Gordon Lasley Jr. is at the low end of the guideline sentencing range of 24 to 30 years. Jill Johnston, Lasley's attorney, will ask the court to grant a two-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility and reject a prosecutor's argument for life in prison. She argues Lasley wasn't convicted of first-degree murder, and the court shouldn't sentence him based on charges that were rejected by the jury.

Lasley was convicted by a jury in December for two counts of second-degree murder. He killed his parents, Gordon Lasley Sr. and Kim Lasley, on Feb. 5, 2014 at their home on the Meskwaki Settlement in Tama.

Sentencing is set for 1:30 p.m. March 24 in U.S. District Court.

In Lasley's sentencing document, Johnston said Lasley should receive the two-level reduction because he never denied killing his parents and admitted in three psychological evaluations that he killed them with a machete. The fact Lasley went to trial and claimed insanity doesn't preclude him from qualifying for the two-level reduction, as the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has recognized.

Johnston also will ask the court not to grant an upward departure or variance in the guideline range, based on the way he killed his parents. There was evidence presented a trial that showed Lasley wasn't in control of his actions.

The government will argue for a life sentence based on Lasley killing his parents in an 'especially heinous and cruel” manner, according to its sentencing document. Prosecutors also cite the pre-sentencing report that determined 30 years to life was the guideline range for Lasley.

Johnston said Lasley was found to be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia when evaluated a month after the killings. Lasley told a psychologist that something else was in control of him. He told another psychologist that his mind went 'crazy” that night, and a voice in his head told him if he killed his parents he would be healed from AIDS and syphilis, which he believed he had. Both evaluations concluded Lasley's mental disease or defect impaired his ability to control and appreciate his actions.

The government also cites Lasley's lengthy criminal history, which should be considered by the court, but Johnston argues the bulk of his convictions are for misdemeanors or driving offenses. The other charges - drunk driving, possession of marijuana and two assault charges - involve substance abuse. Most of his criminal behavior stems from substance abuse, which doesn't warrant extra prison time.

'Treatment, rather than incarceration, will better ensure that Mr. Lasley does not engage in assaultive acts in the future,” Johnston said in the document.