Circuit Judge Kevin Blazs denied a request this morning by State Attorney Angela Corey’s office to consider reducing the prison term of a convicted murderer.
Blazs said prosecutors failed to show that Curtis Cross provided “substantial assistance” in the six cases they cited. Cross provided testimony for Stand Your Ground hearings and information in other cases, including murder.
The judge added that even if Cross had provided the level of assistance required under state law, he would not have granted the motion. Blazs said the “appropriate time” for that consideration would be during parole hearings.
Cross murdered Kew Chin during an April 1988 armed robbery, as Chin’s wife watched. Chin pleaded guilty and received a life sentence.
Chin’s three children pleaded with Blazs during a January hearing not to grant the request. His children were 4, 8 and 11 when their father was killed.
Two of the children were at the hearing this morning but the family did not want to comment after the ruling.
The law says a reduced sentence can be considered for a convicted felon who “provides substantial assistance in the identification, arrest, or conviction of any of that person’s accomplices, accessories, coconspirators, or principals or of any other person engaged in criminal activity that would constitute a felony.”
Assistant State Attorney Richard Mantei previously said if the assistance Cross provided did not meet the criteria, he’s not sure what else Cross could have done.