Dekorian Daniel and Jaila Sherrod—the two defendants who pled guilty to facilitation to murder and tampering with physical evidence in the 2021 death of Adrian Acree—were formally sentenced in Christian Circuit Court Thursday morning.
Daniel and Sherrod were co-defendants alongside Cortez Hairston Jr., who was convicted for murder in the fatal shooting of Acree, and they both pled guilty to facilitation to murder and complicity to tampering with physical evidence, which comes with recommended 10-year prison sentences.
Sherrod’s defense attorney made a case for Sherrod to receive probation, due to cooperation with the case and the part she played at Hairston’s trial, but special prosecutor Zac Greenwell argued that her actions played a role in a man’s death, and that can’t be forgotten.
Judge John Atkins denied that request and sentenced Sherrod to serve five years on the facilitation to murder charge and five years for tampering, running consecutively for a total of ten years.
Before conducting sentencing on Daniel, Judge Atkins read a letter penned by Acree’s older sister, where she highlighted how her family has been forever scarred by not only her brother’s death, but the actions that led to it. She says they are more distrusting and suspicious of everyone, and that will follow them forever.
She says if someone is capable of doing this to their best friend, then they are capable of anything, and asked the court to uphold the punishment.
Daniel himself spoke, offering an apology to the family for what happened.
Judge Atkins denied probation for Daniel and sentenced him to ten years in prison. Daniel was the final defendant remaining in this case, with Hairston serving 30-years in the murder of Acree.