Indiana Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Oberhansley appeal, no decision yet
Apr. 6—The Indiana Supreme Court heard an oral argument Thursday morning in the appeal of Joseph Oberhansley, the man convicted of killing and eating the organs of Jeffersonville woman Tammy Jo Blanton in 2014.
No decisions were made immediately following the oral argument.
"It's hard to find the right words to describe the crime for which Joseph Oberhansley received his life sentence, but in reflecting on what happened to Tammy (Jo) Blanton the words horrific and brutal come to mind," said Victoria Casanova, an attorney representing Oberhansley at the oral argument.
In the appeal filed last summer, Oberhansley's attorneys argue his mental health issues weren't taken into consideration when he was given his sentence. They also said the jury didn't return the proper verdict form, stating they believe the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors in the case.
"In Mr. Oberhansley's case, the jury made the first of two statutorily required findings, but not the second," Casanova said. "As such the trial court had no authority to sentence Mr. Oberhansley to life without parole."
The justices presiding over the hearing asked Casanova to confirm that Oberhansley agreed to waive his right to talk about his mental health issues to avoid the possibility of the death penalty if convicted, and Casanova confirmed he did.
They also told Casanova that, based on their findings from the case, the jury instructions for the case were correct and communicated.
"This is the second time he killed, he had 15 different juvenile judications, he had a strangulation charge pending," a Justice said during the hearing. "If we find there's just something, that there's a fundamental error...there's a lot in the record to regard to the actual killing. The facts are gruesome...he had killed before...he had pending charges, violent charges. He had a violent history."
Casanova argued there are "two remedies" to the life without parole sentence, which would be a sentence imposed that was a term of years, or a new sentencing hearing.
Attorneys representing the state argued in support of upholding the life without parole sentence.
"We will be discussing the case and issuing an opinion in due course," a Justice said at the end of the oral argument.
A representative with the Indiana Supreme Court said all justices were present for the oral argument.
Oberhansley was arrested in 2014 for the brutal murder of Blanton, who was his ex-girlfriend.
Blanton was stabbed numerous times and Oberhansley is accused of cannibalism in the case.
He was convicted in the case in 2020.
He was sentenced to life without parole after the trial and also given six years to be served concurrently on a burglary charge. He was given jail credit for the more than six years he served while being held pretrial.
Oberhansley has an extensive criminal history, including a manslaughter conviction for killing his girlfriend in 2000 in Utah.
