Michael Eugene Spears, Second Degree Murder, Oklahoma 2017

A brutal murder in Claremore, Oklahoma, has come to an end with a 25-year federal prison sentence for Michael Eugene Spears, 59. The defendant was sentenced Tuesday in federal court for the second degree murder of Mark McKinney, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

The murder occurred on November 18, 2017, following a disagreement between the two men in a trailer owned by Spears' sister. Sometime after the brutal attack, Spears told a relative about his crime and asked to borrow a truck so he could transport the victim's body to a lake, where he planned to dispose of it. A relative reported the crime to law enforcement the next morning and the victim's body was recovered from the trailer.

Prosecutors argued for a sentence of 30 years in prison, given the brutal nature of the murder. In particular, prosecutors noted how the defendant had stabbed the victim repeatedly with a machete, beat him until he was unrecognizable, took his phone and the few dollars in his pocket, and left him to die on the floor while Spears spent hours drinking.

The defense argued for a sentence of 15 years, contending that Spears' years of alcoholism, his troubled childhood, his issues with judgment and impulse control, and evidence of cognitive decline showed a lower sentence was appropriate. The defense also pointed to Spears' lack of criminal history and contended that Spears may have acted in self-defense.

However, prosecutors noted that the defendant's issues with impulse control and judgment were the very reasons he continued to pose a danger to the public and that the evidence at the crime scene in no way corroborated Spears' claims of self-defense.

Spears was previously charged and convicted of first degree murder in Rogers County District Court. However, due to the Supreme Court's McGirt v. Oklahoma decision and subsequent court decisions, his state conviction was vacated. The U.S. Attorney's Office then prosecuted the case, charging Spears with second degree murder.

The FBI and Claremore Police Department conducted the investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas E. Duncombe and Justin G. Bish prosecuting the case. Following his prison sentence, Spears will spend five years on supervised release.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndok/pr/man-sentenced-300-months-prison-2017-claremore-murder