Missouri court rules state miscalculated Deandre Pointer’s sentence
Deandre Pointer, a Missouri inmate who should have been eligible for release in 2024, remains incarcerated after the state miscalculated credit for time he already served, the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
Pointer was sentenced to 23 years in the Department of Corrections on four counts, including two of second-degree murder and two of armed criminal action, with the sentences running concurrently. A Jackson County judge handed down that penalty in 2023 upon finding that Pointer had been abandoned by his public defender during post-conviction proceedings stemming from his initial 2005 sentencing.
How a 23-Year Sentence Became 2044
When the resentencing finished, Pointer anticipated release in about a year once he served the required 85 percent of the sentence. Instead, a Missouri Department of Corrections record clerk processed paperwork yielding a projected release date of 2044.
Judge Alok Ahuja wrote in the court’s unanimous opinion that the department misapplied the law on how to calculate the sentence. The Missouri Supreme Court has held that criminal statutes must be construed strictly against the state and liberally in favor of the defendant, Ahuja noted.
The 2023 resentencing altered both the charge on one count from first- to second-degree murder and changed the structure from consecutive to concurrent sentences. According to Ahuja’s opinion, the original conviction and sentence for first-degree murder on Count 1 must be regarded as though they never took place.
After the resentencing concluded, the agency applied 6,929 days of credit to the modified first count, while granting only 557 days toward the remaining three. The Western District decision overturned a February ruling from Cole County Circuit Judge Brian Stumpe, who had found the department calculated the sentence correctly.
Legal Challenges and Prior Trials
Authorities initially arrested Pointer in June 2004 on charges consisting of one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, and two counts of armed criminal action. He was convicted in 2005 and initially sentenced to life in prison without parole for first-degree murder, alongside life sentences for the remaining charges ordered to run consecutively.
After that trial, prosecutors offered a plea deal of 18 to 20 years in exchange for testimony against the person who committed the killings. Pointer stated he was forced at gunpoint to help dispose of the first body and tied to a chair during the second murder, believing he was innocent and unwilling to admit to a crime he did not commit.
Kent Gipson, Pointer’s attorney, said via email that Pointer is pleased with the ruling but recognizes it will not trigger immediate release. The state can seek a rehearing or transfer to the Missouri Supreme Court, and Gipson stated he expects officials to challenge the decision.
“It should have never come to this,” Gipson said. “If the corrections officials had done this earlier, it would have likely resulted in my client receiving a parole hearing and an outdate three years ago.”