The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a Chicago man was warned multiple times of the risks of representing himself at a murder trial for killing a Gary father after the couple refused to let him hold their baby.
Ray Dampier, then 44, was given 62 years in February for the May 10, 2022 shooting death of Devonte Brown, 29, outside on the 1700 block of West 5th Avenue in Gary.
In a 3-0 decision, Appeals Judge Elaine Brown wrote that Dampier was told by at least two different judges and waived an attorney in court multiple times.
“The record reveals that the trial court advised Dampier regarding the risks and disadvantages of representing himself and that Dampier indicated that he understood,” she wrote.
Dampier can appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court.
His earliest release date is in December 2068.
