MUNCIE, IN — A Muncie man convicted of voluntary manslaughter in a 2015 stabbing death is seeking clemency from Indiana Gov. Mike Braun.
Testimony during Juan Hernandez’s trial in February 2016 indicated he stabbed Mark Hittson, the 55-year-old husband of the defendant’s ex-girlfriend, 23 times. The slaying was on Jan. 13, 2015, outside the Daleville truck terminal where Hernandez worked.
Hernandez testified the stabbing took place after Hittson attacked him, and he maintained he had repeatedly tried to rescue the victim’s wife from a “vicious cycle of abuse” in her marriage.
The Delaware Circuit Court 5 jury elected to find Hernandez guilty of voluntary manslaughter rather than murder. Judge Thomas Cannon Jr. later imposed a 25-year prison term.
In his request for clemency, submitted to the Indiana Parole Board, the Muncie man said Hittson “almost knocked me out,” and he maintained he had “acted in self-defense.”
Hernandez said he had been a “model prisoner” during his 11 years of incarceration.
“I ask you for mercy, governor,” he wrote, saying he hoped to “return to society as a law-abiding citizen of Indiana.”
He said he planned to return to Muncie, his hometown since he was 4 years old.
The parole board could conduct hearings on Hernandez’s request. It would then make a recommendation to Braun.
If the governor decided to grant clemency, his options could include commuting Hernandez’s sentence or releasing him to work release.
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld Hernandez’s convictions, for voluntary manslaughter and battery, in November 2016.
Hernandez, now 58, is incarcerated at the Putnamville Correctional Facility. He has a projected release date in February 2033, according to state Department of Correction records.
In a response to the Muncie man’s clemency request issued on Tuesday, July 14, Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman said he strongly opposed any plan to reduce Hernandez’s prison sentence.
“Hernandez has earned his time behind bars,” Hoffman wrote. “I believe that granting clemency would be a gross miscarriage of justice. The mere passage of time does not erase the pain and suffering inflicted at the hands of violent criminals.”
Hoffman noted the brutality of the 2015 killing and referred to the Muncie man’s earlier criminal record, including a pair of criminal recklessness convictions in 2005.
“The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior,” the prosecutor wrote. “Hernandez has shown time and again that he is dangerous and violent with no respect for the sanctity of human life.”
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie man convicted of voluntary manslaughter pursuing clemency
Reporting by Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press | USA TODAY Network
