Danielle Green Given 60 Years, But Was Guilty Verdict Truly Unanimous?

By Mike Perleberg A deputy leads convicted murderer Danielle Green away from the courtroom following pronouncement of her 60 year prison sentence on Friday, October 30. Defense attorney Del Weldon follows. Photo by Mike Perleberg, Eagle Country 99.3. (Rising Sun, Ind.) – Sixty years in prison is the sentence ordered for a killer in Ohio County, but her defense attorneys have raised questions over whether the jury’s guilty verdict was unanimous. Danielle Green, 43, was convicted in September for the murder of her ex-husband, Raymond Green. She shot him 10 times in the head and torso as he laid in bed in a trailer they both lived in at Green’s family farm on Hartford Pike in May of 2014. Raymond Green’s body was placed in a metal box after he was shot dead. Danielle Green told Indiana State Police – as well as Raymond’s elderly mother – that he had been killed by a dog. His bullet-riddled and decomposing body was found days later in that box outside the estranged couple’s mobile home. Ohio Circuit Court Judge James D. Humphrey heard about two hours of testimony on September 29 from Danielle’s friends and relatives of Raymond. Having taken those statements into account, Humphrey announced Green’s sentence of 60 years with the Indiana Department of Corrections with no time suspended to probation. She will be given credit for 1,028 days good time days served in jail since her arrest last year. The sentence is less than the maximum 65 years Green was facing, but more than the 55 year advisory sentence for a murder conviction in Indiana. Humphrey called the killing a premeditated execution. Evidence, he said, showed that Raymond Green was shot while he laid in bed. He also pointed to Green's numerous internet searches about shooting a person with a .38 caliber handgun. "The searches were too eerily similar to be a coincidence," Humphrey said. Dearborn-Ohio County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard credited Indiana State Police detectives work in putting the case together. Thanks was also given to local law enforcement. “We’re very pleased with the judge’s decision and justice was done for Ray Green and his family today,” said Negangard. He added that he believes Raymond’s family would also be satisfied with the verdict.   A Juror’s Complaint Enough To Toss The Verdict? Before Humphrey announced the sentence, Green’s defense attorney, Del Weldon of Lawrenceburg, requested that the pronouncement be continued to a later date. Sometime prior to Friday’s hearing, Humphrey had shared with prosecutors and the defense statements that were made to his office’s staff concerning conditions in the jury room at the Ohio County Courthouse during the trial. The specifics of the statements were not clear, but the state and the defense jabbed over their significance and whether the jury’s verdict was in fact unanimous. “There may have been undue influence present in the jury room,” Weldon said. “Information is rather limited at this stage.” Prosecutor Negangard responded to the claims. He said the juror’s statements only related to breaks for the jury, meals, and space in the jury room. “She never stated that there was duress,” Negangard said. Weldon asked the judge to divulge the name and contact information of the juror in question. Humphrey indicated that Green’s attorney would have to request that information in writing. The judge rejected Weldon’s request for a continuance before going on to announce Green’s sentence. Humphrey said Green has 30 days to raise any issue worthy of appeal of her sentence or conviction. “The juror didn’t articulate anything of the kind that was stated by defense counsel. Furthermore, all the jurors were given the opportunity to state if that was their own verdict and they all did,” Negangard said following the hearing. “If the standard is that it’s a little uncomfortable in the jury room then I don’t think any verdict would stand in the state of Indiana.” Green’s co-counsel, David Zerbe, said after the hearing that Weldon was not grandstanding. He said that as Green’s defense lawyers, it is their duty to give her the best possible defense. RELATED STORIES: Prosecutor Says Green Is Narcissist, Selfish; Murder Sentence To Be Announced Oct. 30 Danielle Green Could Learn Sentence Later This Month Jury Finds Danielle Green Guilty In Murder Of Ex Ohio Co. Murder Trial: Was Deadly Shooting Self Defense?