BENTONVILLE — George David Reed is seeking to reduce his 22 year prison sentence.
Reed, 54, admitted firing four shots through his daughter’s bedroom door July 31, 2007. One of the bullets struck Michael Austin Guzman in the back, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Reed claimed he never intended to injure Guzman, now 21.
Guzman and Reed’s daughter, Morgan, then 17, were dating. After their parents learned the two had a sexual relationship, Guzman was prohibited from being alone with her. Reed later found Guzman hiding in the bedroom closet of his daughter’s room and began beating him with a pool cue before leaving the room and returning with a gun.
At A Glance
Commutation Reasons
George Reed said he should be granted the commutation because:
• Guzman is in support of the commutation.
• The community is in support of a commutation.
• He’s never been in trouble before.
• He’s a pillar in his church.
• He’s a business owner and a pillar of the community.
• The sentence he received is excessive.
• He had an all-female jury.
• He was a father protecting his daughter and his home.
Source: Staff Report
A jury found Reed guilty of battery in the first degree and a firearm enhancement charge.
He was sentenced to 22 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. His parole eligibility date is Aug. 16, 2015, according to the Department of Correction’s website.
Reed is seeking executive clemency to reduce his prison sentence.
Prosecutor Van Stone and former circuit judge David Clinger, who presided over the case, wrote letters to the Arkansas Parole Board opposing the reduction.
However, Guzman submitted a letter in support of Reed and the sentence reduction. Guzman described Reed’s conviction as the “court's mistake” and wrote he never wanted Reed prosecuted. He also states the shooting was an accident and his voice was never heard.
“I am requesting that Mr. Reed’s sentence be committed(sic) to time served,” Guzman wrote. “I have no problem with him being out on parole. He is a very honorable man and I am the one that pushed him over the edge.
“If this sentence was committed(sic) as time served that would make right all the mistakes that have been made by all parties involved,” he wrote.
Stone wrote Reed’s statements lack remorse for his crime.
“The jury acting as the community saw through Reed’s outward appearance and discovered the vicious nature of Reed’s true character and the jury sentenced Reed accordingly,” Stone wrote. “Reed, with a long history of violence, savagely beat and then shot a young man and gave him a life sentence of confinement to a wheel chair.
“Commutation is this case would be a travesty of justice,” Stone wrote.
Clinger wrote Reed could have killed Guzman or his (Reed’s) own daughter that day.
“Reed tries to portray his actions as those of a loving father, worried about the safety of his daughter,” Clinger wrote. “Not true. The evidence showed the jury that his crime was an act of retribution not of protection.”
Reed wrote in the application for clemency his intention wasn't to injure Guzman, but to scare him out of his daughter’s room and his house.
Dina Tyler, a spokeswoman for the parole board, said Reed’s application is scheduled to be screened Thursday.
Tyler said the board will look at Reed’s application and if a member wants to hear more, a hearing will be scheduled. Tyler said if there’s no hearing, the application is determined to be without merit and sent on to the governor’s office.
Tyler said the final decision rests with the governor regardless of the board’s recommendation.