Justice Scales and wooden gavel or hammer on wooden surface
<p>Jade Janks—a 39-year-old woman based in Solana Beach, <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/california-student-16-dies-stabbed-3x-by-freshman-student/?_gl=1*10cfp3p*_up*MQ..*_ga*NzE4NDU2ODMuMTY3ODIyODM4MQ..*_ga_V2HX8YP3XL*MTY3ODIyODM4MC4xLjEuMTY3ODIyODM4Ni4wLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a>—has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after being convicted of killing her 64-year-old former stepfather, Thomas Merriman.</p>
<p>Notably, <em><a href="https://lawandcrime.com/crime/woman-convicted-of-murdering-former-stepfather-over-stash-of-her-nude-teenage-photos-expresses-few-regrets-when-sentenced-for-his-murder/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Law &; Crime</a> </em>reports that the incident took place after Janks discovered that Thomas was in possession of hundreds of her own naked photos, and the defense continues to assert her innocence.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Jade Janks Is Accused Of Killing Merriman Over The Photos</h3>
<p>The decision came down on Monday, and it&#8217;s related to a situation that unfolded back in late 2020.</p>
<p>When Janks was visiting Merriman to help him clean his house, authorities note that she happened across naked photos of herself of his computer. According to <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/story/2022-12-21/solana-beach-interior-designer-stepfather-death-verdict" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The San Diego Union-Tribune</em></a>, some of these nude photos dated back to her teens.</p>
<p>As a result, Janks is accused of picking Merriman up from a medical facility, getting him drunk, and strangling him to death. She&#8217;s also accused of attempting to make the death look like an accidental overdose, and Janks was <a href="https://lawandcrime.com/crime/california-woman-convicted-of-murdering-former-stepfather-for-secretly-hoarding-nude-photos-of-her/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">convicted</a> of first-degree murder in December 2022.</p>
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<p>Now, she&#8217;s been sentenced to life in prison, and she&#8217;ll be eligible for parole after 25 years.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">The Defense Asserts Her Innocence: &#8216;She Did Things That Made Her Appear To Be Complicit In The Death&#8217;</h3>
<p>However, the defense reportedly notes that they&#8217;re planning to appeal the sentence, as Janks says she stumbled across his body in the driveway—though she admits she didn&#8217;t handle Merriman&#8217;s death properly.</p>
<p>Marc Carlos, Janks&#8217; defense attorney, says that additional factors were at play when Merriman died.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Something happened on this evening, and it had a lot to do with her relationship with the victim. There is a lot of trauma in Jade Janks&#8217; early life&#8230;Those were the factors that basically went into play on the evening that Mr. Merriman died.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Carlos continued, pointing out that Janks &#8220;reacted in a way that was completely outside the way she would normally act.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;She had, as the court is aware, she had family members that she could have called. She had lawyers that she could have called. There&#8217;s all kinds of people she could have called; however, she panicked under this reaction to the trauma that she had. And, as a result, she did things that made her appear to be complicit in the death of Mr. Merriman.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>In addition to the defense attorney, Janks&#8217; father called the conviction &#8220;an injustice&#8221; while slamming Merriman as a &#8220;sick, perverted individual.&#8221;</p>
<p>As for Jade Janks, she says that Merriman put her through years of &#8220;psychological manipulation.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Tom came into my life when I was just a little girl and exerted influence during that early stage of development when I was just figuring things out. Unfortunately, that influence manifested itself into inappropriate touch, coercion, reckless behavior, and complete violation as what I now realize years of psychological manipulation. All of this came crashing down on me when I noticed hundreds of naked photos of myself on his computer and felt shattered.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>She wrapped by noting, &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry I didn’t act the way I was supposed to. I think about it every day since.&#8221;</p>
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<p>However, the presiding judge ultimately noted that, based on the evidence, he thinks the jury&#8217;s decision was founded.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I think they considered the mitigation. And I think that the jury ultimately determined that [the situation] didn&#8217;t justify Ms. Janks&#8217; actions. And, therefore, they found her guilty of first-degree murder. And I do believe the evidence supported their conclusion.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;">What are your thoughts on the overall situation?</p>
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