A Tucson man who killed an 18-day-old baby two years ago had his sentence reduced from 15 to 11 years Monday in Pima County Superior Court.
Judge Richard Fields said he didn't give enough consideration to the mitigating circumstances when sentencing Rene Barrios last September.
Barrios, 27, was living with Erica Encinas, the mother of 18-day-old Jaden Encinas, on Oct. 26, 2007, when she left their apartment to run errands. Encinas told police the baby was sleeping on their bed when she left, according to court documents.
Prosecutors allege that when the baby started to cry, Barrios paused his "assault-like" video game, went into the bedroom, shook the newborn and hit him in the head.
"Defendant's goal was to silence Jaden. He wanted the infant to stop crying so he could play his game. The impact was massive and global," former Deputy Pima County Attorney Kristen Kelly wrote in court documents.
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Barrios left the baby comatose on the bed and spent the next five to 10 minutes finishing his game, Kelly wrote. When he returned to the bedroom, the baby was blue and Barrios called 911, Kelly wrote.
Barrios pleaded guilty to manslaughter and could have received anywhere from 10 1/2 to 21 years in prison. Fields settled on the 15-year term. Barrios' new attorney, Gregory D'Antonio, asked Fields to reconsider the sentence, but for an entirely different reason from the one Fields ultimately cited for his decision.
D'Antonio argued that Barrios was being subjected to "brutal" and "inhumane confinement" because of the actions of the baby's mother around the time of the sentencing.
The defense attorney provided Fields e-mail and MySpace page posts allegedly written by Erica Encinas. In one, she allegedly wrote that she hoped Barrios would go to a specific prison so her cousin and his fellow gang members could kill him. In another, the baby's mother allegedly wrote, using a form of shorthand, that "the man who took ur life will soon have his taken! Justice will be served!!!"
As a result of the missives, Arizona Department of Corrections personnel have placed Barrios in protective custody, requiring him to be locked up 23 to 24 hours a day with no visits or phone calls, D'Antonio said.
"Mr. Barrios may be killed or severely injured if he is exposed to general population, thus resulting in a de facto death sentence for the crime of reckless manslaughter to which he pled guilty," D'Antonio wrote in his motion. "Alternately he may lose his emotional stability, his ability to function in society, his sanity or even his life if subjected to 15 years of the extreme isolation of protective custody or the brutality of the (mental health unit)."
In court Monday, D'Antonio said sentences should be imposed by judges because they are unbiased, take the needs of society into consideration and impose proportionate sentences.
In this case, "the victim ended up passing her own sentence on the defendant," D'Antonio said.
Prosecutors argued against a new sentence, saying the 15 years fell well within the range Barrios agreed to serve when he entered his plea agreement. The facts of the case remain unchanged, they said.
During Monday's hearing, Deputy Pima County Attorney Anita Simons told Fields the state doesn't endorse what may or may not have been said by Erica Encinas, but the defendant would have been in danger anyway, considering what he did.
Fields, however, cited Barrios' strong family and community ties, good upbringing, potential to rehabilitate, lack of prior convictions and acceptance of responsibility as mitigating factors in resentencing him.
