Judge William Chapman III has sentenced political blogger Clayton Kelly to 2.5 years in prison and 2.5 years on probation, after Kelly pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges of illegally breaking into St. Catherine's Village nursing home and filming the bedridden wife of Sen. Thad Cochran last May 2014.
The other conspirators Richard Sager and John Mary had initially pleaded guilty and had cooperated with the authorities in exchange for their freedom. Ridgeland lawyer Mark Mayfield, the other defendant, committed suicide last year, after a month of being arrested.
"I'm here as much to mourn my mother as to condemn anybody who perpetrated the crimes that have been discussed. She was a lovely woman. We miss her, and she lives in our hearts," said Clayton Cochran, son of Sen. Thad Cochran, in the court Monday before Kelly was sentenced.
Kelly was reportedly pressured by the others to take photographs of the late 73-year-old Rose Cochran at her nursing home, who suffered from dementia for 13 years. The images were immediately posted online in a political hit video against Sen. Cochran, who at the time was in the middle of the biggest political battle of his long career against challenger Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel.
Records show an online correspondence among the defendants that the pictures of the sick wife taken by Kelly would be used in a political video that implies Sen. Cochran was having an affair with his longtime Washington staffer Kay Webber while his wife suffered in a nursing facility. Kelly, who is a supporter of Sen. McDaniel, told the police he was hoping this opportunity would boost his name as a journalist, even though his wife strongly advised against the idea.
Kelly was charged of attempted burglary, burglary and conspiracy, which carries a maximum of 55 years in jail. However, in a last-minute plea deal before his trial started last week, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy that greatly reduced the maximum sentence to five years.
Judge Chapman III stated he took into consideration that Sager and Mary did not acquire any jail time in the case but also considered Kelly's history of having a past crime conviction for illegal possession of marijuana.
"I told him it was a stupid idea and that it was just plain wrong," a statement from Kelly's wife that the judge quoted as a great summary for the case.
Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture | Flickr
