Ginn gets 1 year shy of maximum for murder
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Ginn, 27, was given just one year less than the maximum sentence for the crime of second-degree murder as Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley found only one mitigating circumstance in his favor during a sentencing hearing Wednesday.
Ginn was convicted this spring for killing longtime friend Robert Webb Jr., 26. The pair had reportedly been the best of friends for many years, being roommates at times. During trial, prosecutors showed that Ginn confronted Webb with a knife when Webb came to his house and started trouble, stabbing the victim 19 times. Webb was reportedly mad over a drug deal that failed to go down earlier in the evening.
It was Webb’s appearance at Ginn’s house which accounted for the sole mitigating factor during sentencing as the court found Ginn acted under “strong provocation” when Webb came to his residence and began yelling and challenging him to come outside and fight.
Ginn claimed he thought Webb had a gun, prompting him to arm himself with a knife.
However, it was the chain of events which followed the initial confrontation which brought the near maximum sentence to Ginn. During trial, witnesses told the jury that Ginn attacked Webb a second time as he lay on the ground suffering grave knife wounds from the first round of stabbings. The defendant reportedly said he intended to finish the victim off during the second attack.
Following the second attack, Ginn went to Webb’s vehicle and retrieved the victim’s gun which was still in his truck. Ginn then staged the crime scene by firing a round into his trailer to make it look as if Webb had fired at him. Ginn admitted to staging the scene when authorities questioned him about the unusual angle of the round which hit his trailer.
Given his conviction of second-degree murder, Ginn will be required to serve 100 percent of his sentence without chance of early release through parole.