Beating Victim Upset By Suspect's New Sentence

A judge reduced the sentence of a man who beat his wife for three hours with a shotgun and his fists. News On 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright reports he has only served one year of his five-year sentence and now, he's getting out early.

Records show that on September 5, 2005 Suzy Taylor was beaten for nearly three hours by her husband, Randy. According to court documents Randy greeted her by hitting her in the back of her head with the butt of a shotgun, and so it began.

"Until it happens to them, you never know, you'll never know what it's like to be thinking you're going to die," assault victim Suzy Taylor said.

It took the case nine months to go to court. Randy Taylor pleaded guilty and a judge gave him five years in prison. He served one year and on Monday asked the judge to reduce that sentence. His attorney argued Taylor has taken every class offered in prison, this was his first-ever arrest, he continued his child support payments and all his evaluations are outstanding. Prosecutors argued Taylor should serve every minute of his time because even though it was a first offense, it was a very brutal crime. The judge said this case is hard because both sides are right, but agreed to shorten the sentence.

Outside the courtroom on Monday, emotions ran high between Randy's family and Suzy's friends, each accusing the other side of terrible behaviors and lies. Suzy says marital hurts and betrayals aside, the system is more lenient with men who beat their wives than if they did the same crime to a stranger.

"They just don't take it as seriously because you're married, because everybody in a marriage fights. Sure they do, but not to that extreme," Suzy Taylor said.

Suzy says her greatest fear is the judge's decision sends a poor message to the couple's son, that doing wrong isn't always properly punished.

The judge said Taylor deserves consideration for doing all the system asked of him, and no amount of prison time could compensate the victim. The judge modified Taylor’s prison sentence from five years to two, then sentenced him to the Avalon facility for three years. He'll report to Avalon in about six months. It is a private prison Taylor must pay to attend that releases him during the day to go to work, then locks him back up at night.

Watch the video: Sentence Shortened For Man Who Brutally Beat Wife