A former Bloomington High School teacher wants a Woodford County judge to reconsider the prison sentence she received last month for killing her husband.
Sarah Mellor, 31, was sentenced to eight years in prison last month after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of her husband, Mark. She killed him with a hunting knife during an altercation at a private campsite outside Carlock in October 2016.
Mellor is currently at the Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln. She could be paroled in October 2020.
During her original sentencing hearing, Mellor’s attorney, Stephanie Wong, called six witnesses and submitted nearly 30 letters from Mellor’s supporters, in hopes that Judge Michael Stroh would only sentence her to probation. The defense cited a history of verbal and physical abuse between the Mellors and the high school teacher’s extensive community ties and clean criminal record. Wong argued that Mellor was provoked.
Wong filed the motion to reconsider the sentence on Aug. 3.
Stroh "did not give sufficient consideration to the number and weight of mitigating factors presented," Wong wrote in her motion. "The sentence of eight years is excessive in considering the nature of the facts and circumstances of the crime and the mitigating and aggravating factors presented."
A hearing on the motion to reconsider sentence is set for Sept. 5.
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