CLINTON - Amanda Hamm was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in the drowning deaths of her children, but the time she's already spent in jail means she likely will be released in a little more than a year.

Reactions ranged from rage to tears of joy outside the courtroom Thursday after she was sentenced on child endangerment charges.

The Clinton mother showed no emotion as Judge Stephen Peters handed down the sentence, which could have been as long as 20 years in prison.

"I am now faced with a life that holds promise for me and my future and realize how ironic this must sound because Christopher, Austin and Kyleigh no longer have similar horizons to look forward to," Hamm told the court.

She was convicted in December of child endangerment but acquitted of first-degree murder charges in the September 2003 drowning deaths of Christopher Hamm, 6, Austin Brown, 3, and Kyleigh Hamm, 23 months, in Clinton Lake.

Hamm's former boyfriend Maurice LaGrone Jr., 31, is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder in the deaths of Hamm's children. He was convicted in April.

Defense attorney Steve Skelton said after the hearing that Hamm could spend slightly more than a year in prison after she receives credit for three years in the county jail awaiting trial and day-for-day credit available to her for good behavior in prison.

"Now Amanda is looking at a release date 14 months from today," said Skelton.

Skelton called the verdict "excellent." He said Hamm was prepared for the possibility that the judge could give her the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Skelton had asked the court to consider a sentence of eight years.

Hamm's mother, Ann Powers testified at the sentencing hearing that her daughter has matured since her arrest.

"She's paid the ultimate price by losing her kids because of abuse and she's finally come to accept how she needs to change her life. She realizes she's worth more than that," Powers said.

Special prosecutor Roger Simpson asked Powers her opinion as to what justice the children deserved.

"I don't know how to answer that. I loved my grandchildren, and I love my daughter," Powers responded.

Family reaction

Greg Hamm, the father of Christopher, brushed past reporters after the hearing. When asked his reaction to the judge's decision, he yelled an obscenity on his way out of the building.

Craig Brown said the sentence minimizes the death of his son, Austin. He said Hamm's statement to the judge Thursday was the first statement she has made since her arrest.

"She came in here to try to get the least amount of sentence possible. Then she speaks up," Brown said.

Hamm was convicted by a Macon County jury of three counts of child endangerment, a lesser charge that was added as an option while she was on trial on nine counts of first-degree murder.

Special prosecutor Ed Parkinson joined family members in their disapproval of how the case concluded.

"This case is about three dead children. It's not about all the scientific crap we've heard the last three years. I'm disappointed in the verdict and sentence," Parkinson said.

Peters told the large audience in the courtroom that he took several factors into consideration in his decision to give Hamm 10 years. A prior record that included numerous traffic violations and five misdemeanor convictions was taken into account along with the potential to rehabilitate Hamm.

Peters said testimony at both trials indicated that Hamm knew her children were physically and emotionally abused by LaGrone. Hamm's boyfriend admitted he put Austin's head in the oven as a so-called prank.

"These were three children who had no means of defending themselves," Peters said.

LaGrone previously claimed it was another prank to scare the children that led him to park Hamm's car close to the water on the lake's boat ramp. The car ended up rolling into the water and sinking with the three children in the back seat.

Hamm and LaGrone said they escaped from the car but could not save the children.

The judge also noted that Hamm used illegal drugs during the year she and the children lived with LaGrone.

In arguments for a maximum sentence of 20 years, the prosecution disagreed with testimony from Hamm's mother.

"Amanda Hamm has not paid the ultimate price. Her children paid the ultimate price," Simpson said.

Simpson contended Hamm was responsible for the children's deaths because she put her boyfriend's needs over those of the children.

"This was a crime of selfishness," Simpson said.

---

Drownings case summary

The case: Amanda Hamm and then-boyfriend Maurice LaGrone Jr. were both charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Hamm's three children, who drowned after the family's car sank off a boat ramp at Clinton Lake on Sept. 2, 2003.

The arguments: Prosecutors alleged LaGrone plotted the killings because the children hampered his sex-and-drugs lifestyle and Hamm went along with the plan to save their troubled and sometimes abusive relationship. Hamm and LaGrone maintained the drownings were a tragic accident that occurred when the car rolled into the lake during a family outing.

The verdicts: A Macon County jury cleared Hamm of murder charges in December, but convicted her on lesser charges of child endangerment. Her attorney, Steve Skelton of Bloomington, said the verdict indicates jurors didn't believe Hamm helped plan the killings, but knew LaGrone was a threat to her children. LaGrone was convicted of murder by a McLean County jury in April. Jurors said afterward they did not believe LaGrone meant to kill the children, but should have known his actions put the youngsters in harm's way.

The sentences: Hamm was sentenced Thursday to 10 years. LaGrone is serving a life sentence without the chance of parole.

The appeals: Skelton plans to appeal her conviction, and has filed post-trial motions seeking her release, or a new trial. LaGrone's appeal is pending; he argues a judge erred when he rejected a defense bid to offer jurors a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

SOURCE: Associated Press