A Battle Ground man was sentenced Monday to more than 46 years in prison for bashing his then-girlfriend and best friend in their heads with a hammer when he found them in bed together.
A Clark County jury on July 7 found Marcus Morrison, 31, guilty of two counts of first-degree attempted murder with egregious lack of remorse.
His sentence was unusual in that Morrison received consecutive sentences for each count from Superior Court Judge Robert Lewis.
“Normally, there is a dead body or two … even for 30 years,” said Morrison’s attorney, Jeff Sowder.
Deputy Prosecutor Luka Vitasovic said state law provides for consecutive sentences when a defendant has been convicted of two “serious violent offenses.”
“The presumption is sentences are concurrent in Superior Court unless you have two serious violent offenses, in which case the sentences are consecutive,” Vitasovic said.
Vitasovic on Monday requested what is known as an exceptional sentence of 50 years. An exceptional sentence is one that is outside the state’s formulaic standard sentencing range and is allowed when a jury finds certain aggravating circumstances, such as an egregious lack of remorse. Lewis denied Vitasovic’s request for 50 years but sentenced Morrison to the maximum under the state standard range of 36 to 46 years.
Sowder argued for the minimum of 36 years, saying the 46 years would be excessive.
“This is a case I think was pitched as sort of the heat of passion,” Vitasovic said. “The state takes issue with that characterization.”
He said Morrison and victim Rena Donnelly had been dating for only a couple of months and had broken up on the night of the attack.
Donnelly said she still has numbness in her right arm, cheek, neck and upper torso from brain injuries caused by the attack. She said she is unable to drive or work and is on temporary disability.
She and the other victim, Aaron Warner, both still have headaches from the attack, Vitasovic said.
The night before the Nov. 23 attack, Morrison, Donnelly and Warner were drinking together at a Battle Ground saloon to celebrate Warner’s upcoming birthday. While at the bar, Morrison became upset, apparently because he thought Donnelly was paying more attention to Warner, according to testimony. She said he confronted her about her flirtations, and she responded that she wouldn’t tolerate his controlling behavior and then said she was breaking up with him.
After going home with Warner and falling asleep next to him, Donnelly said, she awoke when Morrison struck Warner in the head with a hammer. In response to her screams, Morrison raised the hammer and told Donnelly, “Shut the (expletive) up, (expletive); you’re next,” Warner testified Monday.
Then, Morrison struck Donnelly in the head with the hammer as she attempted to get away, Warner said.
