Brian M. Bassett, a teenager when he was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996 for the August 1995 murders of his mother Wendy, father Mike and 5-year-old brother Austin in McCleary, was re-sentenced Thursday in Grays Harbor County Superior Court to a minimum of 60 years in prison.
Thursday’s hearing came in the wake of a 2018 State Supreme Court decision that sent Bassett’s case back to Superior Court for a new sentence. That 5-4 decision stated sentencing juvenile offenders to life in prison constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
“In October of 2018 our State Supreme Court determined life without parole was categorically unconstitutional for juvenile offenders, that it constituted cruel and unusual punishment,” said Superior Court Judge David L. Edwards. “That resulted in the court hearing, and pursuant to the State Supreme Court he had to be sentenced to some term other than a life sentence.”
Edwards continued, “After hearing the testimony and evidence I determined a term of 60 years was appropriate for the three counts of murder — 25 years for his mother and 25 years for his father, with a provision they run concurrently, meaning at the same time, and then I sentenced him for 35 years for the murder of his 5-year-old brother, and ordered that to be served consecutively to the other two, for a total of 60 years.”
County Prosecutor Katie Svoboda said, “I think the court did an excellent job of weighing the legal factors in an extremely difficult case. The family felt heard and expressed a lot of gratitude to the court’s handling of this case.”
Bassett turned 40 in April. As it stands, with the possibility of some time off for good behavior and factoring in the about 24 years he’s already served, Bassett will be 70-plus years old before any chance at release, said Svoboda.
According to a report by KING 5 News, Bassett’s attorney, Eric Lindell, said Thursday he would appeal Edwards’ sentence.
This was Bassett’s third sentencing hearing. He was sentenced to life without parole for shooting his parents and drowning his younger brother in a bathtub after the initial court case ended in 1996.
He was brought up for another sentencing hearing in 2015 following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that required judges to carefully consider the factors and characteristics unique to juveniles before imposing a sentence of life in prison without parole. Edwards said the state Legislature passed a bill that incorporated that procedure into state law.
“So Mr. Bassett was returned for re-sentencing pursuant to that statute,” said Edwards. “We had a hearing and at the conclusion of that hearing I determined that life without parole was appropriate and imposed that sentence.”
Edwards called the sentencing of juveniles “an evolving area of the law. Everybody is weighing in on it, not just our state or the U.S. Supreme Court, around the country courts are beginning to accept the science that has been developed that shows juveniles have different brains than adults, how they process information and make decisions, and are asking the courts to change their approach.”
He continued, “It’s something that needs to be done.”
