Man sentenced to eight years in prison

A Coolville man convicted of stabbing his estranged wife in the chest threw himself on the mercy of the court at his sentencing Monday, saying he acted out of despair after learning that his victim had been cheating on him with another man while they were married.

A Coolville man convicted of stabbing his estranged wife in the chest threw himself on the mercy of the court at his sentencing Monday, saying he acted out of despair after learning that his victim had been cheating on him with another man while they were married.

"It was more than my mind could handle," 52-year-old Michael Smith told Athens County Common Pleas Judge Michael Ward. "I love her more than life itself."

Smith's plea wasn't enough, however, to sway Ward, who granted a request by County Prosecutor C. David Warren to give Smith the maximum sentence of eight years in prison.

A jury last week found Smith guilty of felonious assault for a May 2006 incident in which he stabbed his wife, Janeen Smith, after an argument. He also allegedly set the couple's home on fire, though the jury acquitted Smith of aggravated arson and also of an attempted murder charge.

Smith was arrested May 26, 2006, after sheriff's deputies were called to his home in Coolville, which was already ablaze. He was alleged to have stabbed Janeen Smith in the chest with a pair of scissors (though these were never found), after the two had been drinking all day and got into an argument.

The couple's teenaged son was inside the house when it caught fire, but he and his mother, who survived the stabbing, fled the scene and found refuge with a neighbor. Michael and Janeen Smith had been trading off staying in the home with their son while they were going through a divorce.

Michael Smith said in court Monday that he assaulted his wife after she told him that she was involved with another man, and had been seeing the man even before she left her husband.

"I want her to know, no matter what she might think, I never did have an affair or sex with another woman while we were married," Michael Smith added.

He added that except for a 22-year-old drunk-driving conviction, he has no criminal record.

"I've never been in trouble besides the DUI in '85," he said. "No police calls, not even a traffic ticket… I didn't realize what was going on that night until it was over. I beg for mercy from the court."

Michael Smith's Public Defender attorney, Patricia Jamison, argued that in sentencing her client, Ward should keep in mind the kind of sentences that other defendants in Athens County who have been found guilty of felonious assault have received.

"The court should attempt to make a sentence which would be consistent with sentences for similar crimes by similar offenders," she said. "A maximum sentence in this case would be highly inconsistent."

Jamison cited, without naming her, the case of a young woman found guilty of stabbing her victim multiple times and causing serious physical harm, who was sentenced to one year in prison. "The seriousness (of physical harm) in this case is nowhere near the seriousness there was in that case," the attorney maintained.

She also cited "the unique situation in which (this crime) occurred, which is not likely to occur again… (Michael Smith) was extremely emotionally distraught." The stabbing took place after a long day in which the couple "had been together all day, talking and drinking," she added. "He did not want his marriage to end, and still doesn't."

Janeen Smith, however, told Judge Ward that her ex-husband has continued to harass her even while in jail. "Michael violated the no-contact order by writing me letters," she said. "And Michael still wants to have a relationship with me."

In addition, she alleged, Michael Smith has asked their son to claim responsibility for setting fire to the home.

Janeen Smith asked Ward to impose the maximum sentence on Michael Smith, and added that she would like her ex-husband to sign over the deed to the land where their home once stood, and on which she has now put a mobile home. Michael Smith agreed to do so.

Prosecutor Warren said he can't fathom how the jury failed to find Smith guilty of attempted murder, but believes he deserves the maximum sentence for the single charge on which he was convicted.

Alleging that Michael Smith has "a pattern of alcohol abuse," Warren confirmed Janeen Smith's claim that her ex has continued to try to contact her despite a court order not to do so.

"He wants to move in next door (to her) when he gets out (of prison)," Warren noted.
Regarding Smith's offense, Warren told the judge, "Mr. Smith took a pair of scissors, and stabbed his victim in the chest… I still don't understand how you stab somebody in the chest with a pair of scissors and not intend to kill them."