PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. — A woman accused of murdering her three-year-old son in 2012 has pleaded guilty to 2nd Degree Murder and is sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

According to an official court document, Petition to Enter Plea of Guilty, received from Pulaski County Court Clerk in case number 15PU-CR01021, Jamie Litton entered a plea of guilty to second degree murder in front of Judge Stan Moore in Camden County on Sept. 12, 2016. Jamie Litton’s son, Blake, died after being brutally beaten by her boyfriend, Thomas Presley. 

Litton’s trial had been moved to Pulaski County and set for Sept. 26, 2016. The change of venue was granted because of publicity surrounding Litton’s latest pregnancy which occurred while being held in the Laclede County jail awaiting trial for the death of Blake Litton.

Among other items in the Petition, Litton offers, in her own handwriting in section 5, the location of the acts in Morgan County establishing jurisdiction, the date of the acts, and the factual basis for the plea, which the court must have before accepting any plea.

In Litton’s handwritten statement, she says, “I failed to seek immediate medical attention for my son, B.L., after learning that Thomas J. Presley had beaten him and after learning that he was black and purple and possibly paralyzed and I allowed B.L. to remain in the custody of T.J. Presley and I allowed B.L. to be driven away by T.J. Presley and B.L. died as a result of endangering B.L. on such date and in such county.”

The Petition also reflects Litton’s understanding of the range of sentencing options available to the court and the actual sentence recommendation made by the Prosecuting Attorney’s office in this matter. To complete the Petition, Litton stated she was under no outside influence such as drug or alcohol, medical condition nor medication that would limit her ability to make a knowing admission of guilt, and had not received outside inducement in the way of promises other than those shown in the Petition.

Also filed on Sept. 12, 2016 in Pulaski County, the Amended Criminal Information, contains the formal charge of Murder in the Second Degree (Class A Felony) in that Litton was informed by Thomas Presley, when he brought the child to Litton’s place of employment, that he had beaten Blake Litton, the child and the biological son of Litton, and the condition of the child was such that he was black and purple and may be paralyzed. Litton did not attempt to seek medical aid for the child and further allowed the child to remain in the custody of Presley when Presley drove away with the child.

Allowing the child to be taken away by Presley without medical intervention constituted the Felony level crime of Endangering the Welfare of a Child. When death ensued as a result of the injuries sustained by the child, Litton’s actions met the elements of the crime of Murder in the Second Degree as enumerated in the Amended Information as filed.

The final document filed in the case by the Court of Judge Stanley Moore was the Judgment document. The formal Judgment outlines the original charge of Murder 1st Degree and the amended charge of Murder 2nd Degree wherein a person dies during the perpetration of another felony level crime.

The Judgment Document further reflects the Disposition as Guilty Plea and states the sentence imposed by the court as Life in Prison with a start date of Sept. 12, 2016.

The document states the defendant was informed of the verdict and offered a chance to make any statement as to why sentencing should not be handed down immediately. Further, the court noted in the Judgment document that the defendant had been advised of her right to file for post conviction relief pursuant to Rule 24 and the Court found No Probable Cause to believe the defendant received ineffective assistance of counsel. Missouri Supreme Court Rule 24 outlines a defendant’s right to post conviction relief based upon the sentencing court’s lack of proper jurisdiction as well as ineffective counsel by the defense attorney.

Litton was remanded to the immediate custody of the Sheriff’s Office. The Court authorized one additional officer or guard and directed the Sheriff to immediately transport the defendant to the Department of Corrections. 

The original charge against Litton was Murder in the First degree. Litton’s plea arrangement allowed the charge to be reduced to Second Degree Murder which carries a possible punishment of 10 to 30 years in prison or Life with the possibility of parole. Litton received a sentence of Life with the possibility of parole following her guilty plea.

Although some would have liked to see a harsher sentence for the original charge of First Degree Murder handed down at a trial, there are no guarantees of a conviction or a maximum sentence with a jury trial, even if a conviction is obtained.

Plea arrangements typically allow the courts and the prosecutors to obtain justice more quickly for the victims and their families, as well as move cases through the court system faster than would be possible if all cases resulted in a lengthy trial by jury. The case against Jamie Litton is now more than 4-1/2 years old.

The length of time a given case takes to move through the 26th circuit in Missouri recently had a direct impact on the defendant and the victims in the matter of Aaron Fisher when a Cole County Court found that Fisher’s right to a speedy trial had been violated and dismissed charges against Fisher in the case of his alleged sexual assault of an infant. The Fisher case, and the publicity surrounding the final ruling dismissing all charges, brought area legislators together to provide much needed help when a third circuit judge was added to the bench in the 26th Judicial Circuit, which encompasses Camden, Morgan, Moniteau, Miller and Laclede counties.

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