SALINE CO.—The man who was convicted of murdering Jessika James in 2009 has been sentenced in Saline County circuit court today, August 1, 2013.
And the judge in the case ruled that Ricky Turner II will spend the rest of his days in Illinois Department of Corrections.
Turner, 36, was sentenced to a term of life in prison for the killing of Jessika, who, at age 4, had been being brutalized for weeks by Turner before her death. The case was brought before a jury in March of this year.
Judge Walden Morris utilized state guidelines that direct that if the perpetrator has attained the age of 17 and his victim is under the age of 12, the sentence is mandatory for life imprisonment.
This brings a definite end to the ongoing suffering many have experienced at the hand of Turner, who wasn’t arrested in Jessika’s death until a year later, and who has managed to be charged with numerous child sex crimes…but because of his attorney Morgan Scroggins, who continuously threw cogs in the wheels of justice, he was able to get out of the plea agreements and subsequently the sentencings that these lead to.
Scroggins was Turner’s defense attorney for the murder case, but he was overwhelmed by the hard work and dedication put forth by the prosecutorial team of Staline County State’s Attorney Mike Henshaw, and Assistant State’s attorney Eva Walker.
Turner has already been in DOC and was recently at Saline County awaiting sentencing. He should be shipped back to DOC (temporary holding in Menard) any day.