JASPER, Tenn. - The 27-year-old Marion County, Tenn., man convicted in August of battering his infant son to death will be 48 years old when he becomes eligible for parole under a 25-year sentence handed down Tuesday.
Christopher E. Russell was found guilty by a jury on Aug. 17 of second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the June 2012 death of 3-month-old Colin Russell.
Judge Thomas "Rusty" Graham on Tuesday sentenced Russell to 25 years on each of the two convictions, with the sentences to be served concurrently, or at the same time. Graham weighed enhancing factors presented by Assistant District Attorney Steve Strain against the mitigating factors presented by Russell's lawyer, William Bullock.
Graham applied some of the enhancing factors presented by prosecutors but did not find any mitigating factors to apply, resulting in what the judge described as a "very severe" sentence.
Russell on Tuesday was dressed in a black-and-white striped jail uniform and appeared interested in his case. He showed no emotion when the sentence was handed down.
His lawyer, William Bullock, asked for a date to file a motion for a new trial, and Graham scheduled that hearing for 2 p.m. CST on Feb. 16. After the verdict in August, Bullock said he believed there were "reversible grounds for appeal" in the case.
Strain said after Tuesday's hearing he was satisfied with the outcome.
"It's a substantial sentence," he said.
Russell must serve 85 percent of his sentence - more than 21 years - before he becomes eligible to seek parole in 2037.
He was named a "person of interest" early on after medical officials deemed Colin's death "suspicious."
Colin was first hospitalized June 17, 2012, when he stopped breathing. He was taken to a local hospital then transferred to Vanderbilt hospital in Nashville, where medical officials found injuries that appeared consistent with shaken baby syndrome.
A 12-page autopsy and trial testimony from the doctor who performed it describe contusions on Colin's head, injuries that included blood clotting in several areas of his brain and "extensive" hemorrhaging in the optic nerves of both eyes.
The report also notes Colin had at least 15 fractures of his ribs and a fractured right clavicle, along with a ligament injury on his spine that appeared to have been healing.
At the conclusion of Tuesday's hearing, Russell was returned to his cell at the Marion County Jail.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.