James Lee Campbell was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday morning to 72 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections on charges of felony murder, resisting law enforcement, and a firearm sentencing enhancement.
Campbell, 54, was found guilty on all of those charges during a jury trial two weeks ago in Starke Circuit Court.
Testimony found that Campbell shot and killed Randall Bailey at Bailey’s Starke County home on November 28, 2019 while several family members were there getting ready to leave to have Thanksgiving dinner at another location. It was also Randall Bailey’s 75th birthday.
Starke County Prosecuting Attorney Leslie Baker asked for the maximum sentence on each charge, but Starke Circuit Judge Kim Hall said some of the aggravating factors did not satisfy the requirements of the law, but Campbell was sentenced more than the presumptive sentence on murder with 60 years, two years on the charge of resisting law enforcement and 10 years on the firearm enhancement charge. No part of the sentence was suspended. He was given 636 days credit of time already served in jail.
Baker stated that aggravating factors in this case include the fact that the commission of this violent crime was conducted in the presence of children under the age of 18, and he threatened the life of a witness in the case. Judge Hall agreed and added an aggravating factor that Campbell shot Bailey at a point where the victim was incapacitated. Baker also pointed out that the event affects the family emotionally to this day and Campbell put the public and law enforcement in danger as he fled from police throughout the county while traveling at 100 mph at times that day.
Defense Attorney Richard Ballard asked that Judge Hall find a mitigating factor that Campbell does not have a criminal record.
Judge Hall did find a mitigating factor in that Campbell did not have a criminal history. He did note that Campbell was on trial for arson a few years ago, a jury could not come to a conclusion in that case. However, Judge Hall found the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors in this case.
The wife of the victim gave a victim’s impact statement during Wednesday’s hearing where she talked about the good character of Randall Bailey. She said he was kind-hearted and would help anyone in need. She stated that the family’s life has not been the same since the incident, and some members still deal with the effects of Campbell’s actions that day. She appreciates the blessings of her loving family and her church. She commented that Campbell deserves the death penalty.
Campbell told Judge Hall that he will be appealing his sentence and felt he was not given a fair trial in Starke County. Judge Hall did not find Campbell to be in a better financial situation than when Richard Ballard was appointed as Campbell’s defense attorney so Campbell was granted a court appointed appellate counsel.
