Michael Dean Stephens Out in 2019?

By Timothy Myers SR. — Tim Myers

My criminal law professor at Drake University was always fond of stating that a second degree murder conviction was basically a self defense claim that did not quite make it. This shorthand explains well the (I think correct) conclusion of the jury in the Michael Dean Stephens case: A big brawl was going on but the defendant’s resort to deadly force resulting in the death of Josh Pipho was not justified under the circumstances.

But due to California penal rules and other matters Michael Dean Stephens will most likely be out of prison for a homicide in 2019. Here is why:

Stephens was sentenced to 17 years to life for the homicide and 6 years for attempted murder under a plea agreement to be served consecutively, if KHTS is correct. In the California penal system non-capital offenders generally only serve one-half of their sentences before parole for so called “good time,” which effectively means that they did not shiv a guard or another inmate during their incarceration.

So this means that Stephens would most likely serve 11.5 years of the total sentence, but this must be reduced by time served since he was in custody for three years awaiting trial, so Stephens has 8.5 years to go and can look forward to release in 2019.

Certainly no fun, but Stephens will still be under 30 when released with a chance for a life, while Josh Pipho was robbed of his.

Comments (5)

OccassionalPosterJanuary 20, 2011 at 10:06 pm

While shiv does qualify as a verb meaning to cut, it is usually used to refer to the actual object. The preferred verb is shank. ‘If he Stephens doesn’t shank anyone, he will get out early on good behavior.’ I got this from the old HBO series Oz and a wonderful cable television advertisement several years back that describes the difference. Otherwise great points made in the post. Makes you think if we are really tough on crime or just dumb on crime. This guy comes home before 30, but non violent drug offenders can get locked up for long prison bids.

Timothy Myers SRJanuary 21, 2011 at 8:39 am

OP: The lack of convergence is also due to a lot of drug charges being federal with longer sentences and a penal policy of serving 80 to 85% of the sentence. This was a major plot point in a Scott Turow novel where a gang leader “wisely” plead guilty to a state charge of first degree murder without special circumstances where he would be out in 20 to avoid prosecution on federal drug conspiracy charges where he was likely to do 50.

JeffJanuary 20, 2011 at 10:20 pm

I concur. With all that you said. And that’s all I have to say about that

PetzJanuary 21, 2011 at 5:28 am

As Petz remembers it, Josh Pipho’s mother was a freqeunt contributor to TITTS and the early SCVTALK forum . Talkers found out about her loss on the blog and were horrified by the murder of her son. We can only hope that parents share this tragic story with their children as an example of how events involving alcohol and drugs can spin out of control. I pray that Josh mother, family, and friends find an inner peace for the rest of their lives.

spineflower2January 21, 2011 at 9:04 am

Drop the state prison population on the locals, and more will be let out than you can ever imagine.

OccassionalPosterJanuary 20, 2011 at 10:06 pm
While shiv does qualify as a verb meaning to cut, it is usually used to refer to the actual object. The preferred verb is shank. ‘If he Stephens doesn’t shank anyone, he will get out early on good behavior.’ I got this from the old HBO series Oz and a wonderful cable television advertisement several years back that describes the difference. Otherwise great points made in the post. Makes you think if we are really tough on crime or just dumb on crime. This guy comes home before 30, but non violent drug offenders can get locked up for long prison bids.
Timothy Myers SRJanuary 21, 2011 at 8:39 am
OP: The lack of convergence is also due to a lot of drug charges being federal with longer sentences and a penal policy of serving 80 to 85% of the sentence. This was a major plot point in a Scott Turow novel where a gang leader “wisely” plead guilty to a state charge of first degree murder without special circumstances where he would be out in 20 to avoid prosecution on federal drug conspiracy charges where he was likely to do 50.
JeffJanuary 20, 2011 at 10:20 pm
I concur. With all that you said. And that’s all I have to say about that
PetzJanuary 21, 2011 at 5:28 am
As Petz remembers it, Josh Pipho’s mother was a freqeunt contributor to TITTS and the early SCVTALK forum . Talkers found out about her loss on the blog and were horrified by the murder of her son. We can only hope that parents share this tragic story with their children as an example of how events involving alcohol and drugs can spin out of control. I pray that Josh mother, family, and friends find an inner peace for the rest of their lives.
spineflower2January 21, 2011 at 9:04 am
Drop the state prison population on the locals, and more will be let out than you can ever imagine.