Reader poll
Do you think Magallanez sentence of 75 years was enough punishment?
- Yes
- No
- Undecided
- Put him to death
137 total votes.
A man convicted of having sex with teenagers will spend more than 75 years in prison after a judge’s ruling Tuesday afternoon.
Raul Manuel Magallanez Jr., 32, was sentenced to more than 900 months in prison in addition to a sentence of 25-years-to-life given in Judge Lee Fowler’s Courtroom Tuesday afternoon,.
Magallanez was convicted on Sept. 4. The most serious charge he was convicted of was raping a 13-year-old girl, which carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Fowler sentenced Magallanez to life in prison for that charge.
Before the sentence was handed down, Magallanez asked Fowler for a death sentence.
“... I’m hoping that you could actually give me the death penalty,” Magallanez told Fowler. “I want to be sentenced to death by lethal injection not because I’m suicidal — because I don’t want to live anymore. If you could sentence me to death, at least I would get respect at my funeral.”
Magallanez went on to say that he didn’t want to put his mother, who he said has been with him every step of the way through any more pain.
The death penalty is not allowed in this case under law, but Magallanez had another solution.
“I really like potato triangles,” he said. “I’m hoping that you could send me somewhere where I could get those because I really like those.”
Also prior to Fowler handing down the sentence, Lyon County Attorney Marc Goodman asked Fowler to consider the sentence set forth under “Jessica’s Law,” which carries 25 years to life.
Goodman said the families of the victims did the best they could to protect their children.
“And that was taken advantage of,” Goodman said. “And it was repeatedly taken advantage of. These were repeated occurrences over a lengthy period of time. And it wasn’t just these three witnesses ... it was other minors that spread out far beyond these three girls...”
Magallanez’s defense attorney Julia Spainhour made her motions after Goodman spoke. Spainhour said sentencing guidelines under Jessica’s Law is not blind to circumstances of the individual defendant.
“What sentence is going to serve the ends of justice in this case?” Spainhour said. “What sentence will serve the rehabilitation and serve public safety...?”
Spainhour said the nature of the Magallanez’s case is different from the case that prompted Jessica’s Law to be passed. She said the case, which was based out of Florida, involved a 9-year-old girl who was abducted from her home and killed during a sexual attack. The defendant in that case had been previously convicted of similar charges and released by the parole board.
“According to the victim’s (in Magallanez’s trial) testimony the actions that took place were voluntary actions,” Spainhour said. “She participated in the actions because she believed she wanted to ... said it was different than abducting a child from their bed, forcing sexual relations on a child and then killing them.”
Spainhour also said the youngest victim in Magallanez’s trial was seven months from an age that would have carried a lesser charge.
“I think the law can and does allow some room for some different treatment when the victim is almost the age of the lesser sentence,” she said.
Spainhour continued to argue the issue of consent.
“The victim of the case had the mental and emotional capacity to consent even though she could not legally consent,” Spainhour said.
Magallanez told the courtroom he still proclaims his innocence.
“O.J. did. Michael Jackson did and maybe those are bad examples, but somewhere ... they were found innocent...” he said. “...this wasn’t a jury trial, it was a three-ring circus.”
Magallanez said most of his friends were teenagers.
“ Not because I sought them out but because of my nephew and my (membership) in my car club,” he said. “They accepted me as an equal when others didn’t. I’m not a parents worst nightmare ...”
Fowler, however, did not see the case according to Magallanez or Spainhour’s statements.
“The purpose of this sentence is not rehabilitation,” Fowler said before he handed down the sentence. “Rehabilitation is not an issue.”
Fowler said Jessica’s Law was enacted to protect children from people like Magallanez.
The jury in the trial deliberated in Magallanez’s trial about 10 hours before finding him guilty of raping the 13-year-old girl.
He also was convicted of 14 counts of rape involving girls 14 and 15, 22 counts of furnishing alcohol with illicit intent to minors, four counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, one count of indecent solicitation of a child, two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, six counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, and one count of aggravated intimidation of a witness.
Magallanez originally had been charged with multiple sex- and alcohol-related counts in three separate cases filed in late 2006 and early 2007. The cases were merged into one trial, which lasted for almost three weeks.
After the defense rested, District Judge Lee Fowler dismissed two counts of rape, three counts of furnishing alcohol for illicit purposes and one count of aggravated sodomy. Fowler had kept a log throughout prosecution testimony to determine whether criteria had been made on each of the 58 original charges. He ruled that six of those counts were not proven.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Fowler handed down sentences in each of the counts, but they came in substantially above the maximum allowed sentence by Kansas statute. In addition to the 25-year sentence, Fowler sentenced Magallanez to 452 months for each of the two other cases for a total of 904 months which will be served upon the completion of the life sentence.
tosie (anonymous) says...
Did he seriously ask to be sent somewhere that serves potato wedges? What a JOKE!!!! Can you say mentally ill? Bread and water is too good for this guy.....
October 31, 2007 at 2:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Blackshirt (anonymous) says...
W.L.Fowler hit the nail on the head, "...rehabilitation is not an issue." The crimes, as bad as they were, are not nearly as bad as they could have become. If he had not have been stopped now, it would have been much worse.
October 31, 2007 at 2:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kansasjayhawks (anonymous) says...
I don't think he understands how much pain and suffering those girls went through and will go through for the rest of their lives.
October 31, 2007 at 5:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
moesha288 (anonymous) says...
i feel the death penalty would be a cowardly way out of his sentence as he deserves to go through what he did to those young girls and i feel that he will get a taste of his own medicine reallly sooon and that is what he is problably affraid off!!!! its really funny to hear that he requested to be put somewhere where he would get potato wedges since when is he in a barganing position!!! I feel that judge Fowler did a great job with this one we have enough criminals out here and we need to be putting them away for ever.
October 31, 2007 at 6:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Of course he wanted to be put to death. Easy way out. And why is he so worried about his mother now? He didn't seem to be so worried about her when he was raping little girls. What a joke!
October 31, 2007 at 7:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dorothylandofoz (anonymous) says...
C'mon parents, you just didn't pay attention to your kids. How could this have happened so many times without you knowing where your kids were and face it, quit making excuses. You have to live with this the rest of your lifes. The guy did very wrong just like you parents and your kids. They got caught and now they're crying rape. We have to keep our kids safe, it's our responsibility. Thank the good lord that they are still alive. I pray for all of you involved!
October 31, 2007 at 9:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
equalrights (anonymous) says...
dorothylandofoz-----
Wow.
Do you think a 13 year old's mind is developed enough to make a decision to have sex with a 32 year old? Well the law says no, the jury says no, and the judge says no. So please keep the focus on him not his victim's and their families. Rape is not a punishment for a bad home life. Regardless of what happened in the family NO ONE deserves to be sexually assaulted. End of argument.
October 31, 2007 at 11:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
moesha288 (anonymous) says...
wHO R U TO SIT THERE AND SAY ITS THE CHILDRENS FAULT ? MR MAGALLANES TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE SITUATION I REMEMBER READING SOMEWHERE THAT HE TOLD THE GIRLS NOT TO TELL AS HE WOULD GET IN BIG TROUBLE SO THAT CLEARLY SHOWS THAT WHAT HE WAS DOING WAS WRONG AND THIS ARE YOUNG CHILDREN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IT SOUNDS LIKE U MUST NOT HAVE CHILDREN OF YOUR OWN NO PARENT WANTS ANYTHING SUCH AS THIS TO HAPPEN TO THERE CHILDREN BUT AS WE ALL KNOW WE CAN NOT MONITOR OUR CHILDREN 24 HOURS A DAY !!! WE ALL WORK TO SUPPORT OUR FAMILIES!!!
November 1, 2007 at 6:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
paulkersey (anonymous) says...
“... I’m hoping that you could actually give me the death penalty,” Magallanez told Fowler.
Hell, I'll do it! The dude wants to die, kill him! That way we're not spending taxpayer dollars paying for this POS to rot in prison. Rotting in a grave = Free. Rotting in prison = $$$$.
The dude likes potato wedges, give him a plate full of potato wedges, a needle full of poison, and plant the guy! Get it over with. There's too many (w)ussies in this world!
January 19, 2009 at 1:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
If you could sentence me to death, at least I would get respect at my funeral.”
“I really like potato triangles,” he said. “I’m hoping that you could send me somewhere where I could get those because I really like those.”
It is extraordinarily apparent that this person (to use the term very loosely) shows zero remorse or recognition of wrong doing. If you want respect, respect others. He did the polar opposite.
"Goodman said the families of the victims did the best they could to protect their children."
dorothy must have missed that part and certainly has never known abuse or of any abuses that occurred to friends growing up or that comment would never have been made.
I agree that rehabilitation is not an issue--Judge Fowler made a great call on that--but I have mixed feelings about the death sentence. I don't want this guy to get ANY respect, but I don't want to finance his three-meal-a-day, health care provided, internet and library provided life. Any chance we can bring back the chain-gang prison life? I know it is no longer considered humane to be treated like a convict, but I am a fan of societal deterrents. I think it is sound logic to send the message, "If you treat another person as less valuable than yourself, we will treat you as less valuable than the rest of us." The justice system is no longer very just, that's for sure.
January 19, 2009 at 4:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
He'll be less than comfortable in short order oh4the. The only "wedges" he'll experience is when he is being given a taste of what he gave out once in prison. Child rapists are not very popular inside the prison fences either.
January 19, 2009 at 4:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
That is of some comfort, neighbor, but still--the bills to treat his new (and possibly existing) STD's will fall to us. And he will have access to a prison psychiatrist that we pay for. Yet another amenity I forgot on my above list. Maybe the other inmates will take care of the death sentence too. I don't advocate murder, but perhaps the state's death penalty should be expanded to include this kind of thing--without respect, of course.
January 19, 2009 at 9:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
True, but he won't be molesting any local youth any longer, what's that worth?
January 19, 2009 at 10:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Pingeon (anonymous) says...
While I would agree with the few on here advocating for the death penalty, it is cheaper for the taxpayers to keep him alive. The exception would be if he waived off any appeals. Besides, child rape is not looked highly upon in prison. He can have his time with Tyrone or Bubba (or any other name you want to pull out of the movies) for the rest of his life.
January 19, 2009 at 10:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
orlando (anonymous) says...
How about the Arizona prison? -----pink underwear, tents and bologna sandwiches. I don't know about the potato triangles, though. I think we need more prisons and jails like that.
January 20, 2009 at 9:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
Sheriff Joe is a media hound. What the media fails to tell you when they show and tell how he runs his jail, is the number of lawsuits that State of Arizona pays each year because of him. I like some of his ideas and wish they would force inmates to work their time off, but some of the things he's pulled is over the top.
The prisoners will know his charges as soon as he arrives, there are prisoners who work as trustees in the reception building.
January 20, 2009 at 7:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )