Daniel Hawke Fears, 20, was also sentenced to nine concurrent life terms, which will follow the non-parole life sentences. Fears will also face a combined 28 years and two days in prison, which will follow the life terms. District Judge John Garrett formally sentenced Fears after a jury found Fears guilty of 17 felony counts in September and recommended the maximum punishment for each count.
Fears, who was 18 at the time of the shootings, was convicted of two first-degree murder charges, eight counts of shooting with intent to kill, five counts of drive-by shooting, one count of feloniously pointing a firearm, and one count of discharging a firearm with intent to kill.
Patsy Sue Wells of Sallisaw and Reba Spangler of Fort Smith, Ark., were left dead from the shooting spree that began in Fears' father's neighborhood in Sallisaw and ended in Roland.
Fears' attorney, Rob Nigh of Tulsa, immediately filed a notice of intent to appeal Fears' conviction. He argued that the prosecution did not tell him about the possible testimony of four-year-old, Bethany Caughman, who was brought into the courtroom for a few moments, but after an immediate objection by the defense, did not testify. Nigh argued that Caughman, who was two years old when she was wounded during the shootings, was brought into the courtroom to affect the jury emotionally.
Nigh argued that the prosecution didn't give him an opportunity to object in advance of the testimony from the child. He accused the state of wanting to gain an unfair surprise advantage.
Nigh said that alone should cause the court to give Fears concurrent sentences.
Jeff Sheridan, assistant district attorney, said Bethany Caughman was endorsed as a witness and she was identified as a victim. He said her brief presence in the courtroom was not a surprise to the jury.
"His argument is without any basis," Sheridan said.
Throughout the trial, Sheridan and prosecutor Doug Kirkley emphasized the substantial evidence in the case and the dozens of witness testimony. The prosecution argued that Fears was not insane at the time of the shootings, but showed acts of self-preservation throughout the shooting spree, including at the end of the police pursuit when he threw his gun and ammunition out of the truck he drove during the shootings.
Nigh had argued Fears was schizophrenic and was suffering from delusions that aliens were controlling him, which caused him to go on the shooting spree, a defense the jury rejected.
"The jury found beyond a reasonable doubt he was sane," Sheridan said. "I ask that you follow that."
Sheridan pointed out to the judge that Fears never indicated any remorse for what he had done. Nigh said that he advised Fears not to speak in court, but Fears asked him to say on his behalf that he expressed deep and sincere sorrow.
Nigh said emotion and the loss suffered by many became part of the process in the jury trial, and the minds of the jury became closed to the legal question of why the tragedy happened.
Nigh said Fears suffered from a disease that attacked his brain and mind and "prevented him from appreciating the precious nature of human life." He pointed to expert testimony, which agreed Fears was mentally ill at the time of the shooting.
A point of disagreement between state and defense experts was whether Fears knew what he was doing was wrong.
At the Thursday sentencing, the prosecution called two men whose lives were changed by the sudden death of their loved ones.
"Emotionally, sir, you don't want to think it's true," Stan Spangler, the son of Reba Spangler, said of his mother's death.
Spangler described his mother as a "caring and compassionate" woman "who was never too busy to do something for someone else."
Spangler said as a demonstration of her compassion, she had voiced her intent to buy him a new truck for Christmas. Reba Spangler was shopping for that truck when she was shot and killed at a Sallisaw car dealership.
Spangler said he wanted to see Fears receive consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the deaths of his mother and Patsy Sue Wells.
"I believe in life you 'reap what you sow,' an 'eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,'" Spangler said.
Elvie Wells, widower of Patsy Sue Wells, spoke to the court about the impact his wife's death had on his family, especially his children and grandchildren. "You can't imagine what they've been through," Well said.
"It's just not fair that little ones like these should lose such an important person in their lives," Wells said.
Wells said while he knows that his wife is in a better place, her life was taken too soon.
Wells said the last memory he has of his wife before he was also shot was of her on her knees facing him with blood running down her face and into her hair.
"She had blood spots on her face and her shirt, and I still thought she was pretty," Wells said.
Elvie Wells himself had to have three surgeries to his eye from injuries he sustained in the shooting and had over 300 pellets in his body from the shooting. He estimated that he still has about 100 pellets in his body, and the pellets are still coming out.
A point of Nigh's appeal will be based on several aspects, including the disagreement over Bethany Caughman and jury instructions concerning the defense of insanity.
Nigh said he was given a list of who the prosecution intended to call and the child's name was not on it. He said seeing a child in the courtroom played into the emotional aspect of the jury.
Nigh filed notice of intent to appeal based on several reasons including a challenge of state statute. He said currently in Oklahoma jury instructions don't permit a jury to be informed about a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. He said the jury doesn't know that a not guilty by reason of insanity doesn't mean "a defendant is going to walk out the door."
"As far as the jury knows, he's going home," Nigh said.
He said in reality, that is not the case at all. If a jury had found Fears not guilty by reason of insanity, he would have been held in custody and placed in a secure mental health institution.
He pointed to a cryptic answer given by the judge regarding a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity during the jury selection process. After questioning from a potential juror, the judge was not allowed to say what could happen if that verdict was rendered and could only say there was another process.
"There lies the dilemma," Nigh said. "He (the judge) was not allowed to say."
As far as the incident concerning Bethany Caughman, Sheridan said he and Nigh spoke about the possibility of the child taking the stand. Sheridan said the child's testimony was limited to her injuries that she received. He said her name was also on a supplemental witness list.
"To me, it's not an issue," Sheridan said. "They're grasping at straws.
"As far as the sentence, we maxed out on every count," Sheridan said. "Hopefully it will bring closure to the victims in this case."
Sheridan said he would have rather had all the sentences consecutive, but emphasized that Fears "is not eligible for parole."
