Moye

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday rejected further appeal by a Bedford County man, Deauntay Dontaz Moye, who is serving a minimum of 50 years in prison for a killing he committed when he was 16 years old.

Moye, now 24, a Woodbury resident, entered guilty pleas in 2016 to the murder and robbery of Stephanie Waters, 21, of Roaring Spring.

Moye and Ryan James Hardwick, then 15, in January 2015 arranged an exchange of marijuana for money with Waters’ boyfriend. He sent Waters to make the exchange, at which point Moye pulled a .22-caliber revolver and shot her twice.

Hardwick used the same gun to kill Waters’ dog.

The pair then drove Waters’ vehicle through the Altoona area, failing to seek medical treatment for her even though she was alive for at least 20 minutes following the shooting.

The assailants were arrested the day after the victim and her dog were found deceased in her vehicle that was parked at an abandoned home.

Although the teens pleaded to first-degree murder, their initial sentences of life without parole have remained unsettled due to decisions by both the United States and Pennsylvania Supreme Courts.

In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that life without parole for juveniles was unconstitutional unless the assailant was found to be incorrigible.

That finding and new state laws concerning the sentencing of juvenile killers have resulted in multiple appearances by both Hardwick and Moye before Bedford County Judge Travis W. Livengood.

Last year, Livengood sentenced Hardwick to a term of 40 years to life.

That sentence was upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last week when it rejected further appeal for Hardwick.

On Monday, the state’s top court denied further appeal for Moye, who is serving a term of 50 years to life in the State Correctional Institution at Albion in Erie County.

By rejecting further appeal in the Moye case, the Supreme Court upheld a decision by the Pennsylvania Superior Court issued Nov. 19 that found Moye’s 50-year minimum was not excessive and was not a de facto life sentence.

The 50-year minimum was imposed by Livengood on Dec. 20, 2020, during Moye’s third sentencing hearing.

In his initial sentence, the judge imposed a life without parole sentence on Moye.

The Superior Court vacated the life sentence as the result of the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision and subsequent changes in Pennsylvania law.

A resentencing hearing was conducted for Moye on Sept. 6, 2018, and the judge heard testimony from a forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Bruce Wright of Pittsburgh, who concluded that while Moye had a disturbing childhood that included multiple crimes of violence and arson, “It was possible that Moye could be rehabilitated.”

“Doctor Wright could not conclude that Moye was permanently incorrigible or incapable of rehabilitation,” according to the Superior Court.

Despite Wright’s opinion, Livengood found that Moye was “permanently incorrigible beyond a reasonable doubt” and he reimposed a sentence of life without parole.

The Superior Court on appeal once again vacated Moye’s life sentence and sent the case back to Bedford County.

It did so because the prosecution, which did not present an expert witness, failed to rebut Wright’s conclusion that Moye was not incorrigible.

The appeals court pointed out Wright testified that Moye had taken steps in prison to rehabilitate himself.

The judge in imposing a second life sentence “did not account for Moye’s efforts to improve himself in prison, and (he) ignored the credible expert opinion of Dr. Wright that, in time and with maturations, structure and appropriate interventions, it is possible that Moye could be successfully rehabilitated,” state the Superior Court as it vacated Moye’s second sentence.

Moye appeared for his third sentencing hearing on Nov. 17, 2020, and Livengood sentenced him to a term of 50 years to life.

The defense requested a 35-year minimum, and when the judge imposed a 50-year minimum, it filed another appeal.

This time, the Superior Court upheld Livengood’s sentence, noting, “Moye’s current sentence affords him a meaningful opportunity to engage in rehabilitative programs so as to obtain release, and it is at least plausible he will survive until age 66 (his age when his minimum sentence expires).”

In November, the Superior Court concluded Moye’s sentence is not a de facto life sentence.

The appeals court stated Livengood had addressed all relevant aspects of the case, including the impact of the crime on the community, the safety threat posed by Moye, and his age, mental capacity and degree of criminal sophistication involved in Waters’ killing and robbery.

The judge also concluded Moye’s rehabilitative needs are extensive and that previous attempts to help him failed.

“The court stressed that Moye committed this homicide less than two months after being released from placement and only hours after meeting with a probation officer and only hours before he would be attending court for his juvenile delinquency hearing,” according to the Superior Court decision.

“Waters’ killing was not a spur of the moment incident, but was premeditated and preplanned,” the Superior Court reported as it cited Judge Livengood’s opinion.