BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.—After the young man who killed her daughter was recently sentenced to 55 years in prison, Jennifer Hill felt like her heart was ripped out all over again.
In 2012, Caleb Matlock, 25, shot and killed her daughter Dana Woods, 18, and June Guerry, 22, and then dumped their bodies like a piece of trash in two separate locations of the Francis Marion National Forest.
Today, Matlock sits behind bars at Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia. For much of the Berkeley County community, and even for Hill, Matlock’s sentence was too lenient to say the least.
“I was shocked. I kept hearing concurrent, concurrent, concurrent thinking that when he gets to the murder charges he is going to say consecutive, and it didn’t happen,” explained Hill. “I was very shocked and disappointed.”
For Hill, the sentence was the ultimate slap in the face. It meant that Matlock still had a shot at life–something he stole from Hill’s daughter and Guerry. When released from prison, Matlock will be an old man—but free to rejoin society nonetheless.
“I know most everyone wanted death. I heard public hanging in the middle of town square more than once. Sometimes I thought about it. I prayed. Oh Lord, did I pray. However, I didn’t like who I was turning into with those thoughts,” stated Hill. “I can’t do to any other mother what has been done to me. The pain I was feeling was horrible. The nights I spend crying, even years later, have taken a physical toll on me.”
Under South Carolina law, a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to murder must be punished by death or by a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for thirty years to life. Hill wants to increase that number.
“I think altogether though, for true justice to be served, a sentence of 50 years for each life taken or longer would make everyone feel like we are starting to crack down and maybe even deter others from picking up a gun or other weapon just to harm another human being,” stated Hill.
She has currently launched an online petition to help get the current law changed. Already, nearly a thousand people have signed it.
“I am surprised that it is spreading so quickly,” stated Hill. “When word spread that Dana and then June had been found, the outpouring support of this community was absolutely amazing, and their support for our families is still showing in so many ways with this petition.”
To sign the petition, click here.
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Caleb Matlock sentenced to 55 years for double murders
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