|
ALFORD PLEA:
Father of slain baby enters plea
16
years after girl's charred body is found, father eligible for parole
March
9, 2006
For nearly six years, the identities of the baby
and the killer were a mystery.
In 1990, 10-month-old Francine Meegan was killed, her body taken into
the Arizona desert and her remains set ablaze to conceal the crime.
But it wasn't until a social worker started asking questions, and a
news account of the baby's disappearance jarred the memory of an
Arizona woman, that a trail of clues led police to Francine's parents,
James and Lillian Meegan.
On Tuesday, some 16 years after Francine's body was found, James Meegan
entered an Alford plea to a first-degree murder charge in the case.
The deal carries with it a sentence of 10 years to life in prison, but
because Meegan has already served 10 years for the crime, he is now
able to seek parole.
"He is immediately eligible for release," said defense attorney
Christopher Oram. "I hope since he's been a model inmate and has strong
family support, he will be paroled."
Others, however, have doubts as to whether Meegan ever will be released
given the brutality of the crime.
Prosecutors said because of the history of the case and the fact
multiple witnesses have disappeared, the plea agreement is a good deal
under the circumstances.
"We wanted a first-degree murder conviction, and now we have no other
appellate issues which could cause another reversal of the conviction
down the road," prosecutor Vicki Monroe said. "This is a very solid
conviction."
Francine Meegan's killing and her parents' eventual prosecution was big
news in Las Vegas in the 1990s. Authorities said in 1990 that Francine
Meegan disappeared from her Las Vegas home, but the disappearance was
not reported to police. Days later, cowboys found the baby's badly
burned remains by chance in the desert in Yavapai County, Ariz. The
remains weren't identified for six years.
According to prior news accounts, court records and interviews with
officials Wednesday, the case was cracked in 1996 when a California
social worker was dating a family member of Lillian Meegan, and the man
heard stories about a baby who had disappeared in 1990. He called
police.
"When we first started this, all we have is a missing baby," Monroe
said.
Eventually, the wife of a sheriff's deputy in Arizona read a news
account of the disappearance and contacted Las Vegas police, saying a
baby's remains had been found six years earlier in Arizona.
When police confronted the Meegans, Lillian Meegan told them the girl
had been kidnapped from a casino parking lot.
Police arrested both parents. Further investigation by Las Vegas police
showed that prior to Francine's death, James and Lillian Meegan had
essentially adopted out the baby to an Arizona couple in exchange for
thousands in cash and a place to live. When the couple refused to give
the Meegans more money, the Meegans took the baby back and within a
month she was dead.
Lillian Meegan, then 35, pleaded guilty in May 1996 to a felony charge
of child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily harm. She agreed to
testify against James Meegan, but backtracked while on the witness
stand during her husband's murder trial.
She was sentenced to 18 years in prison and has not been paroled
despite repeated appearances in front of the parole board.
James Meegan, meanwhile, went to trial in 1996 and was convicted of
first-degree murder. At his sentencing hearing later that year, he
denied killing his daughter.
"I did not murder my child, and I want that to be very, very clear," he
told District Judge Sally Loehrer.
Loehrer sentenced Meegan to life without the possibility of parole. She
later changed that sentence to life with the possibility of parole,
saying that when she initially sentenced Meegan she thought he might be
eligible for parole.
This was possible at the time because killers sentenced to life without
parole prior to the mid-1990s could petition the state pardons board to
commute their sentences to life with the possibility of parole.
In 1995, legislators changed the law to prevent parole for people
sentenced to life without parole.
When Loehrer sentenced Meegan in 1996, the law already had been
changed, but Loehrer thought Meegan still might be able to petition for
parole because the crime he was convicted of happened before the law
was changed.
James Meegan later appealed his conviction to the Nevada Supreme Court,
and the court reversed his conviction in 2004 because of a faulty jury
instruction. The case then went back to trial, and just moments before
jury selection was to begin on Tuesday, a teary-eyed James Meegan
agreed to enter the Alford plea to first-degree murder in the courtroom
of District Judge Michelle Leavitt. The plea is not an admission of
guilt, but it acknowledges a conviction is likely if the case were to
proceed to trial.
"He was frightened of a harsher penalty," Oram said. "He maintained his
innocence, but he was concerned he could end up with life without
parole."
Monroe said she was concerned about the fact that multiple witnesses in
the case were difficult to locate or had disappeared, which would have
forced prosecutors to read transcripts of the missing witnesses'
previous testimony to a jury during James Meegan's second trial.
Monroe also was concerned about whether James Meegan would ever get a
life sentence without parole because of Nevada case law dictating that
an individual can't receive a harsher penalty than one previously
imposed for the same crime.
Veteran defense attorney Greg Denue said he thinks it's highly unlikely
James Meegan will be paroled anytime soon.
"Fat chance," Denue said. "In my estimation he is not going to be
released anytime soon because there is a dead baby that's charred. If
they want to give someone a chance, it's not going to be someone who
burned a baby."
Also, Denue said the fact that James Meegan entered an Alford plea,
instead of a guilty plea, might work against him in front of a parole
board.
"One of the key components they look at is taking responsibility,"
Denue said.
Man Gets Prison
In Death Of Daughter
March
23, 2007
A father convicted more than 10 years ago of killing his infant
daughter and burning her body was sentenced Thursday to 10 years to
life in prison.
James Meegan received more than 11 years of credit for time served,
meaning he's eligible for parole.
But his defense attorney, Greg Denue, said Meegan, 50, plans to appeal
his case.
"He just appeals everything," Denue said.
His parole is not a guarantee and he is concerned about the potential
years ahead in prison, Denue said.
"He wanted to withdraw his guilty plea. He wants to go to trial again,"
he said.
District Judge Michelle Leavitt has denied his request to withdraw his
plea.
In 1990, Meegan's 10-month-old daughter, Francine, disappeared from the
family's Las Vegas home. Meegan and his wife never reported it to
police.
Court documents show he sold the child to a California couple for
$30,000, then later reclaimed her. A month after returning home, she
disappeared.
Cowboys found Francine's body burned in Arizona, but the corpse was not
identified until 1996. Authorities alleged Meegan killed her by shaking
her and tried to cover it up.
He entered an Alford plea last year, meaning he did not admit guilt but
acknowledged the state could have proven its case against him. He
pleaded to first-degree murder on the condition he would receive the
sentence a district judge gave him in 2003 after his 1996 conviction
was overturned by the Nevada Supreme Court.
"The plea is illegal and unconstitutional," Meegan said Thursday in
court.
He has argued he did not knowingly or voluntarily enter into the plea
agreement and maintained his innocence.
State officials have said Meegan went before the parole board and was
denied release in October 2005. He is scheduled to reappear before the
board at the end of 2008.
Prosecutor Vicki Monroe, who waited a year for sentencing after
entering his plea, had only a brief comment.
"It's over," she said.
Back To Franceen's Story
For information about preventing child
abuse in the
state of Arizona, click the links below. If they can't help you, ask
for
someone who can. NEVER give up looking for help for an abused
child!
Call
this number
to report child abuse ANY WHERE in the United States!
1-800-4-A-Child
1-800-422-4453
   
My sincerest appreciation goes
out to
Diane Trembly for allowing me to use one
of her beautiful Angels to
make the graphics
for this set. Please visit her site,
by clicking the link below, to
see all
of her amazing work.
|
