INDIANAPOLIS -- A 2015 letter shows exactly why Christopher Goff, the latest member of the Indiana Supreme Court, began his career in the judicial system.
Ind. Governor Eric Holcomb named Goff to the Indiana Supreme Court Monday morning. Goff, a Ball State and Indiana University graduate, was previously a Wabash Superior Court judge. He was appointed to that court in 2005.
In 2015, he applied to a vacancy in the Second District of the Court of Appeals of Indiana.
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In the application he was asked to describe a few cases that were significant to him. One in particular gives special insight into Goff's life.
Read about the case from Goff's perspective below.
The State of Indiana v. Jarrod M. Wall:
When I was sixteen years old, one of my high school classmates committed a murder. The circumstances of the case were tragic on many levels. Jarrod Wall had been the President of his class, a star athlete, and an honor student. He had also long been abused by an older acquaintance; a fact which he was unable to share with anyone in a position to help him. Eventually Jarrod acted out by murdering his victim, whom he did not know but whom he believed to be an abuser.
Jarrod pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to serve 60 years in prison. The year was 1989 and both Jarrod and I were seniors in high school. I had a difficult time wrapping my head around Jarrod’s fate. He had been a better kid than me. In my teenage mind, the situation was unjust. I could not accept that someone with so much promise should be effectively thrown away. Jarrod’s crime and his punishment were my motivation for becoming a lawyer. The situation concerned my parents enough that they moved from Huntington County to Wabash County.
Seven years later, I was hired by the law firm that had defended Jarrod. I was engaged to pursue a sentence modification. The modification hearing took place in 2001 and lasted an entire day. We presented a compelling case for modification. Our evidence included: psychological opinions regarding the circumstances which led to the offense, and how unlikely it was that Jarrod would ever reoffend; evidence relating to Jarrod’s good conduct while incarcerated; and evidence that he had graduated from college with high honors, while incarcerated. At the conclusion of the hearing, there were strong indications that Jarrod’s request for a sentence modification would be granted. However, the statute governing sentence modification required that both the sentencing court and the prosecutor agree to the modification. In Jarrod’s case, the victim’s family was adamantly opposed to modification and their wishes were respected.
This case gained a high level of notoriety and was the subject of a true crime novel entitled, Fear No Evil, by Thomas Jones. The case was significant to me because it changed the course of my life. Jarrod’s experiences and my familiarity with them made me view litigants differently. If I never knew Jarrod, I would not have established problem-solving courts in Wabash County and many lives would be worse as a result. All people are endowed with inherent dignity and worth. If our legal system is to be respected, then we must treat all people accordingly. This is not to suggest that people should not be held responsible for their actions. It simply means that those who are empowered to administer justice must be deliberate, thoughtful, and sometimes creative in doing so. Jarrod taught me that good people can do evil things. My work with problem solving courts has largely been an effort to help people never get to such a desperate point in life.
Jarrod satisfied his sentence on March 09, 2015. He sent me a card to mark the occasion. I attached a copy because I found it to be so moving. His artwork, more than my words, illustrate both the loss which he suffered as a result of his crime, and the power of hope. We all need hope.
