Stice gets 22 years in prison

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A prosecutor says Nathan Stice’s lack of remorse for being part of a Hannibal murder was clear in a letter written just 48 hours before his sentencing.
The jailhouse communique contrasted sharply with an emotional plea for justice by the victim’s widow.
Judge Daniel Pelikan sentenced Stice to 14 years behind bars for guilty pleas to involuntary manslaughter and felonious restraint in the death of Rodney Wood.
Stice, 22, will serve an additional eight years for a Lewis County parole violation that he got after being arrested in the Wood case.
The sentences will run consecutively, and Stice won’t be eligible for parole for more almost 19 years.
Marion County Sheriff Jimmy Shinn said investigators seized Stice’s letter as part of normal jail security policy.

‘...all that bull----’
Stice wrote the letter June 9 to another inmate at the county jail.
His attorney, Lisa Morrow, said Stice was simply expressing frustration about media coverage of the case.
But Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Redington said the letter was in direct response to notes Wood’s family had sent to Pelikan, and showed Stice’s lack of regret for the crime.
Redington said that in the letter, Stice seemed to be pleased that he would not have to hear the family’s notes read at the sentencing.
“I don’t have to listen to all that bull----,” Stice wrote.
Wood’s widow, Sheila, said the loss will haunt her and the couple’s two sons for the rest of their lives.
“I cannot ever, ever live a normal life,” Sheila Wood said through tears as Stice stood 15 feet away.

‘My life...is over’
Wood said that while her faith suggests forgiveness, she finds it difficult and doesn’t know if she will ever absolve Stice.
Forty-five-year-old Rodney Wood was attacked in the 2100 block of Broadway early the morning of Aug. 10, 2008.
He was riding home from a family gathering on a moped, and was not far behind his wife’s car.
Sheila Wood said Stice “took it upon himself” to knock her husband off the moped and then “beat the hell out of him.”
“My life, as I know it, is over,” Wood said. “He, too, will have to live with this the rest of his life.”
Stice told Pelikan that the news media had painted him as a “horrible person” and “that’s not me.”
“From the beginning, the media has played a big part in getting the public’s (sentiment) against me,” Stice said.

Father’s testimony
Stice’s father, Terry, testified that he would not “make any excuses” for his son and would not “condone what he did.”
But Terry Stice said his son “is not the person” he had been portrayed to be.
“When this occurred, it was a nightmare for the whole family, not just for the victim’s family but our family, as well,” Terry Stice said.
Redington said Nathan Stice was trying to portray himself in a light that contrasted sharply with a long record of disrespect for the law.
“You’re not seeing the real thing,” Redington told Pelikan.

‘...Hannibal is devastated’
Pelikan agreed Stice had a history of what he called “different levels of stupidity.”
But the judge said Stice’s participation in the Wood murder was “gross” and “outrageous” conduct that could not be measured or tolerated.
“All of Hannibal is devastated by this,” Pelikan said.
Pelikan later told Stice “If you’re prone to stupid acts, that’s you. The way I see it, there is only one you.”
Toward the end of the hearing, Stice finally muttered a few words of contrition.
“For whatever it is worth, I’m sorry,” Stice said. “I know what I did.”
After the sentencing, Rodney Wood’s brother, Sam, said that no one should pity Stice.
“Playing the role of the victim is not acceptable,” Sam Wood said. “Remember the (real) victim.”

What’s next
The case is far from over.
Stice agreed to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and felonious restraint in exchange for his testimony against the other suspect in the case, 23-year-old David A. Ater.
At a hearing in April, Stice admitted he hit Wood first and then claimed Ater knocked Wood to the ground and began beating him. Both men had been drinking.
Stice said Ater later hit Wood with the victim’s motorcycle helmet. Stice claimed that after the attack, he and Ater barricaded themselves and several women inside a nearby house until police left the scene.
Ater, who has pleaded not guilty, is set for trial Sept. 22 in St. Charles County, where the case was moved on a change of venue.
Ater’s attorney, Jennifer Richardson, attended Stice’s sentencing, but declined to comment afterward.
As for Stice, he will go first to the Fulton diagnostic center before being taken to an undetermined correctional facility.
Sheila Wood and Sam Wood both called after the sentencing for stricter penalties for murder.
They were particularly upset that suspects in cases heard before Stice’s got substantial punishment for lesser crimes.
“They get less time than if you take a human life,” Sheila Wood said. “It’s not fair. The judicial system overall should look at the lengths of sentencing in all cases. Rules need to change. Laws need to change. If you assist in a murder, you need to pay.”
Sam Wood hopes his brother’s death serves as a warning for other young people about the dangers of alcohol and violence, both for assailants and for victims.
“Be careful of your actions because you will pay,” he said.