Last Friday, Raymond Clark III was sentenced to 44 years in prison for the sexual assault and murder of Yale doctoral student Annie Le. On September 8th 2009, Clark choked Le to death at the Sterling Hall of Medicine at Yale, where they both worked. Clark hid Le’s body inside the wall of the laboratory basement. Her body was found on September 13th, the day she was supposed to marry her fiancé, Jonathan Widawsky.
Clark’s 44 year sentence does not include any possibility of parole. He will be released at the age of 68.
Why only a 44 years sentence?
In March of 2011, Clark entered a guilty plea for Le’s murder in exchange for 44 years sentence. For the sexual assault charge, Clark entered an Alford guilty plea. An Alford guilty plea is taken when “the defendant admits that sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution could likely convince a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” but does not admit the act and asserts innocence.
The plea deal was taken by the prosecutor to avoid a long trial and any possibility of Clark going free. Clark’s 20 year sentence for sexual assault will be served concurrently with his 44 year sentence for murder. He will be released at 68 years old.
In memorandum: Annie Le
Annie Le was a rising star. She was the valedictorian of her high school. She attended the University of Rochester after earning $160,000 in scholarship. At 24, she was in the middle of her graduate program at Yale, where she would have earned a PhD in pharmacology.
Annie’s death is a tremendous loss to the Vietnamese American community and the world at large. She is missed.
I’ll wait for you R. Clark. Outside of prison, you aren’t missing anything. The “green” pen was the object ‘irrelevant’.