Allison Moore Sentenced To 105 Years For Hershman Murder

By Mike Perleberg Allison Moore received a 105 year prison sentence on Monday, December 21. File photo by Mike Perleberg, Eagle Country 99.3. (Versailles, Ind.) - Allison Moore, a person who took from others, is going to serve 105 years in prison for the murder of a widow who was known for her giving. Moore had been convicted of murder and burglary last month for the break-in and shooting of Milan resident Nancy Hershman. She was sentenced Monday, December 21 to the maximum number of years she faced. Ripley County prosecutor Ric Hertel called the murder case “anyone’s worst nightmare.” “You have a 68-year-old widow living at home with her adult daughter and woken up in the middle of the night. Somebody comes in brandishing a gun and ultimately shoots her in the face in an attempted robbery. At the end of the day they didn’t even take anything from her home and they left her for dead,” Hertel said. Moore faced a minimum of 45 years if sentenced for three charges concurrently (served at the same time), but Ripley Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Sharp said the facts justified handing out consecutive sentences. A jury had previously recommended against Moore being given a sentence of life in prison. “Given the nature and circumstances of this heinous crime, the character of the defendant, a complete lack of remorse or acceptance of responsibility, and the impact on the victim’s family, the Court finds such sentence is warranted in this matter,” Sharp said at the sentencing. Sharp called Moore an extreme danger to society and highly likely to reoffend. Moore testified as a sentencing hearing on December 11. She said “I am not a bad person and I’m sorry if you think I am” and “I’ve prayed that Mrs. Hershman’s family’s hearts are softened and they can learn to forgive whoever they may believe had a part in her death.” The judge pointed to those statements as significant aggravators it determining the sentence. He said the statements showed Moore’s failure to accept responsibility for her actions while trying to diminish her role. Sharp also noted Moore’s involvement in a robbery in Cross Plains just hours before the murder, numerous write ups while in jail, and a “propensity for violence.” Moore had no prior criminal convictions, but she admitted to smoking marijuana on a weekly basis since the age of 16. Hershman’s relatives having to view images of her body and autopsy at trial were cited by the judge as other aggravating factors. Darlene Grace, Hershman’s sister, spoke after the sentencing. “There’s not really closure to this incident here because Nancy didn’t die from a serious illness or cancer or a heart attack. She died because she was shot. The closure to this is that now that the trial is over, our family can relax,” Grace said. Grace said her family also feels bad for Moore’s family for having to live through this, too. Credit was given by the prosecutor and Hershman’s family to the Indiana State Police investigators who put together the case against Allison Moore, despite a confession that a former judge disallowed at trial. The Indiana Supreme Court had agreed with that judge as the decision to throw out the evidence was appealed. “I believe that the state police received unwarranted criticism for the interview and interrogation of this defendant Allison Moore at the time of the crime at the Colerain Police Department at which she confessed to the crime… That only steadied the resolve of the state police to obtain other evidence,” Hertel said. All 105 years will be served behind bars, with no time suspended to probation. Because of Indiana’s good time credit law, Moore could be out of prison in at least half that time. If that were the case, she would still be in her mid-70s when she is released. The prosecutor said Moore’s is not a life sentence, but close to it. Moore’s sentencing essentially wraps up the three-year ordeal to bring all involved in Nancy Hershman’s death to justice. Two other defendants in the case, Sean Nichols and Daniel Hodge, had accompanied Moore in the robbery in Cross Plains and the break-in at Hershman’s home. Both pleaded guilty to Burglary (class A felony). Nichols was sentenced to 50 years with 20 years suspended to probation. Hodge was ordered to serve 50 years with 13 suspended. Both were 15 at the time of the murder. Due to being seven years older and the fact that she pulled the trigger, Moore had a much higher level of culpability in the crime, Sharp reasoned. Moore’s defense attorney, Michael Sarapata, said she does plan to appeal. 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