The Indiana Supreme Court has affirmed the sentence handed down to James Campbell in Starke Circuit Court on a charge of murder with a firearm sentencing enhancement and a Level 6 Felony count of resisting law enforcement.
A jury found Campbell guilty of the charges following a trial in August 2021. Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall sentenced Campbell to a total of 72 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections on the charges.
Campbell was found to have shot Randall Bailey to death in his Starke County home on November 28, 2019. The act occurred on Bailey’s 75th birthday and prior to the family leaving to go to a relative’s home for Thanksgiving dinner. Several family members were inside the home at the time of the incident, including two young children. Campbell then left the home and the authorities were called. Campbell led police officers on a high-speed pursuit for several miles through Starke County. He was later apprehended, but resisted officers before he was taken into custody.
Campbell appealed the sentence, arguing that his sentence was inappropriate in light of the nature of the offenses and his character. The Indiana Court of Appeals acknowledged that his lack of criminal history was a positive attribute, but his offenses “…demonstrate his disregard for human life and callousness toward his family members”, as well as law enforcement officers and the general public, according to court documents.
Court documents say the Indiana Court of Appeals concluded that this was not a “rare and exceptional case” warranting sentence modification and Campbell did not meet his burden of demonstrating that the sentence was inappropriate. They affirmed the sentence.
