PALMER -- A Palmer Superior Court judge on Wednesday sentenced Clayton Allison to serve 40 years in prison, with 10 years suspended, for killing his 15-month-old daughter in 2008.
As Judge Vanessa White read the lengthy sentence before a silent courtroom, one of Allison's public defenders put a hand on his back. Christiane "CJ" Allison, his wife and the child's mother, began shaking her head.
Their daughter Jocelynn died from traumatic brain injuries that Allison's legal team contended she suffered in a fall down the stairs. Prosecutors argued the injuries were the result of abuse.
A jury convicted Allison of second-degree murder earlier this year.
Allison's attorneys had pressed for a 10-year sentence, what they argued was the minimum, given Allison's clean record, strong family support and potential for rehabilitation. Prosecutors asked for 30 years to reflect "community condemnation" and also deter others from similar behavior.
Allison's public defense team plans to appeal not only the verdict but the sentence, the severity of which surprised them.
The sentence, which also includes 15 years of felony probation, reflected what White called the facts presented to the jury and also the "undisputed vulnerability of this victim."
She said several times that the sentence was based only on what the jury heard at trial and not a 2009 admission of abuse from Allison that White later threw out, finding it coerced and involuntary.
White ruled the jury wouldn't hear the admission because investigators failed to follow up on Allison's mention of an attorney during questioning. But Allison also invited the investigators into his home after leaving the station and repeated the same details of the abuse, this time in front of his family, an Alaska State Troopers investigator said last week.
Members of the Allison family filled the Palmer courthouse gallery, along with friends, Wednesday afternoon to hear the sentence. Victim statements and sentencing arguments were made during a hearing last week.
Allison's mother, Helen Allison, left the courtroom weeping and many supporters cried in the hallway.
"Love you, Clayton!" several said as Allison was led out of the room and back to Goose Creek Correctional Center.
The earliest he will be eligible for parole is in about 13 1/2 years, if he qualifies for all of his good behavior reductions, White calculated. His mandatory parole is in 20 years.
A report evaluating Allison's mental health found him passive by temperament, White said. She agreed that by all appearances he seemed calm and surrounded by a loving family but the jury found that, at least in a time of stress, he snapped.