March Moved to State Dept. Of Correction
POSTED: 8:24 am CDT September 6,
2006
UPDATED: 12:13 pm CDT September 7,
2006
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Perry March was moved to the Tennessee Department of Correction Thursday around 9 a.m.The former Nashville attorney was convicted of killing his wife and plotting to kill her parents was sentenced Wednesday to 56 years in prison.SPECIAL SECTION: March Murder TrialPerry March, 45, was convicted Aug. 17 after prosecutors used circumstantial evidence and testimony from jail inmates and the defendant's own father to convince the jury that he killed his wife, Janet Levine March in 1996.Her body has never been found, although his father claims he buried his daughter-in-law's body in Kentucky.March was found guilty on all three charges against him -- second-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
March Will Be Treated Like Other InmatesMarch is already in prison after being convicted earlier this year of conspiring to murder his in-laws, Lawrence and Carol Levine, and stealing from his former law firm.Davidson County Judge Steve Dozier sentenced March on Wednesday to 25 years for second-degree murder, 26 years for the previous charge of conspiring to kill his in-laws, two years for the abuse of a corpse and five years for tampering with evidence.He also received five years for his previous conviction of stealing from the law firm. That sentence will be served concurrently with the rest of the terms being served consecutively.His defense attorney argued for a reduced sentence because of March's lack of a criminal record before this year. He had faced a total of 64 years."I don't feel happy," Carol Levine said after the hearing. "We're pleased with the (sentence), but I'm also feeling sad that our former son-in-law and the father of our grandchildren ... that I didn't recognize his darker side sooner."Because of the prominence of the March couple and the mystery surrounding what happened to the wife, the trial drew intense interest in Nashville.Pat Postiglione, one of the lead detectives on the case, said before the sentencing that March's case was marked by his efforts to collude with fellow inmates.Part of the prosecution's case involved testimony from a fellow inmate who said March told him he killed this wife with a wrench. March was convicted on the conspiracy charges after he tried to hire another fellow inmate to murder his in-laws."He thinks he can manipulate the inmates," Postiglione said."This has been his (modus operandi) from day one. He thinks he can manipulate whoever he comes into contact with, be it his family or other inmates. In this particular case he tried to manipulate the inmates and I'm here to say that's not going to happen."SPECIAL SECTION: March Murder TrialMarch Will Be Treated Like Other Inmates
March Will Be Treated Like Other InmatesMarch is already in prison after being convicted earlier this year of conspiring to murder his in-laws, Lawrence and Carol Levine, and stealing from his former law firm.Davidson County Judge Steve Dozier sentenced March on Wednesday to 25 years for second-degree murder, 26 years for the previous charge of conspiring to kill his in-laws, two years for the abuse of a corpse and five years for tampering with evidence.He also received five years for his previous conviction of stealing from the law firm. That sentence will be served concurrently with the rest of the terms being served consecutively.His defense attorney argued for a reduced sentence because of March's lack of a criminal record before this year. He had faced a total of 64 years."I don't feel happy," Carol Levine said after the hearing. "We're pleased with the (sentence), but I'm also feeling sad that our former son-in-law and the father of our grandchildren ... that I didn't recognize his darker side sooner."Because of the prominence of the March couple and the mystery surrounding what happened to the wife, the trial drew intense interest in Nashville.Pat Postiglione, one of the lead detectives on the case, said before the sentencing that March's case was marked by his efforts to collude with fellow inmates.Part of the prosecution's case involved testimony from a fellow inmate who said March told him he killed this wife with a wrench. March was convicted on the conspiracy charges after he tried to hire another fellow inmate to murder his in-laws."He thinks he can manipulate the inmates," Postiglione said."This has been his (modus operandi) from day one. He thinks he can manipulate whoever he comes into contact with, be it his family or other inmates. In this particular case he tried to manipulate the inmates and I'm here to say that's not going to happen."SPECIAL SECTION: March Murder Trial Previous Stories:
- September 1, 2006: Perry March Suing His Former Law Firm
- August 31, 2006: Levines Work To Keep Arthur March In Jail
- August 23, 2006: Perry March Taken Off Suicide Watch
- August 18, 2006: Hard Evidence Against March Surfaced After Arrest
- August 18, 2006: Perry March Convicted Of Murder
- August 16, 2006: Brinton: March Can't Afford Lawyer Fees
- August 15, 2006: March, Larry Brinton Speak Estimated 500 Times
- August 14, 2006: Brinton: Negotiations Very Difficult With Marches
- August 11, 2006: March Deposition Showed During Friday Testimony
- August 11, 2006: March In Contact With Family From Jail Cell
- August 10, 2006: Prosecution Reveals New Claims Against March
- August 10, 2006: Perry March Converts To Christianity
- August 10, 2006: Prosecutors Seek Conviction Without Body, DNA Evidence
- August 10, 2006: Timeline Of Key Events In March Murder Case
- August 8, 2006: Local Attorney Blames March For Defense Strategy
- August 8, 2006: Jurors For March Trial Transported To Nashville
March Will Be Treated Like Other Inmates Copyright 2008 by WSMV.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved.
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