LIMA, OHIO -
Concerns over sentences in Allen County led to a march in April. Now, the same group is once again voicing their concerns with a caravan ending at the Allen County Justice Center.
Patricia Carter says her family is working with a Cleveland area lawyer concerning what they say are high sentences after trials in Allen County.
Carter's nephew, Ricky Manley Jr., was sentenced in December of 2010 to 18 years in prison for five felony counts including assault.
The case was appealed, two counts were reduced, and the sentence was shortened by about a year. Carter says the family is now working with civil rights law firm Avery Friedman and Associates. The family wants the case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and the conviction overturned.
"We hope that it can get back to the courtroom and this time he has a fair trial. Not just for him, for anyone in Allen County or anywhere else. You do have a right to a fair trial. You shouldn't be penalized for taking it to trial," said Carter.
Manley's supporters believe his sentence was high because he refused to take a plea deal.
Carter says they are pursuing the U.S. Supreme Court because the Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
