GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Family and friends of a woman killed in 1999 are fighting to keep her killer in prison.
Jessica Ledford was sexually assaulted and killed in Grand Rapids when she was just 18. Her body was found in Highland Park.
In 2000, her friend, then 17-year-old Marc Osborne, was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Ledford’s former fiancé, Robert Homrich, said his love for her remains strong years after her death.
"She was everything you could want in a woman, she was smart, she was beautiful, she was intelligent. We would play one guitar, and I would play on one hand, and she would play the other, and we could just do that for hours and just get lost in the music together,” said Homrich.
The two were engaged in 1999 when Ledford for was killed. Homrich said he was in shock when Ledford was killed.
"I was just lost, blindsided. She cared so much about him, and I was shocked, and I just, I didn't want to believe it. But then, you know, when you looked at the evidence, you couldn't deny it,” said Homrich.
Ledford’s family and friends believed Osborne would remain behind bars for the rest of his life.
But, years after his sentencing, the U.S. Supreme Court changed its ruling on life sentences for minors. The court ruled that life sentences without parole were unconstitutional for juveniles. Life sentences could still be an option for sentencing, but they can’t be mandatory.
Osborne was just shy of being 18 years old by two months when he committed the crime.
Because of this ruling, he will receive a new sentence of 24-40 years minimum, to 60 years maximum behind bars.
"That's the part that upsets me the most is that, you know, 25 years ago, we were sold this false sense of closure and security by the courts. They said, you know, he'll never see the light of day. You don't have to worry about that,” said Homrich.
Now, Ledford’s family is fighting to keep Osborne in jail because they say they believe a new sentence is not fair for Ledford, and they are afraid he will commit the same crime again.
"He deserves forgiveness. Does he deserve his freedom? As I said before, until Jessica can be made whole, making Osborne whole is not a talk that should be considered,” said Homrich.
Osborne is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 22.
