AUBURN - A woman who already completed her prison sentence for killing her autistic son in a house fire will not serve additional prison time sought by the Cayuga County District Attorney's Office, a judge ruled Friday.

During Friday's Cayuga County Court hearing, visiting Monroe County Judge Elma Bellini said that while she disagreed with the original six-year prison sentence handed down by former Cayuga County Judge Peter Corning on June 8, 2000, she could not legally give more prison time to Michelle Davis, formerly of Fleming, because the original term was valid, and that she could only impose the post-release supervision that was mistakenly not ordered in the original sentence.

“I have to take into consideration that when (Corning) sat on the case, he had more information than this court and that his sentence, albeit light, fits into the legal range of five to 25 years,” Bellini said.

Davis was brought back to court on Oct. 6 to deal with the post-release sentencing error when Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said he would attempt to lengthen Davis' already completed prison sentence. According to state law, any defendant who receives a determinant prison sentence for a violent felony is supposed to also be placed on supervision, which is similar to parole.

Budelmann said that a recent state statute involving cases where courts failed to impose post-release supervision allowed the sentencing court to either add the supervision or to drop it completely. If the supervision was added, Budelmann said he believed that would technically void the original sentence and allow him to pursue a lengthier prison term that could have been up to 25 years long.

In Davis' case, she was required to receive 2.5 to five years of supervision after she pleaded guilty on March 14, 2000, to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree arson for killing 13-year-old Daniel Leubner in a Fleming house fire on the morning of Sept. 4, 1999.

Davis admitted she started the fire in a closet underneath the home's stairwell while Daniel was sleeping upstairs. A coroner's report confirmed that Daniel died from smoke inhalation.

Davis' attorney, David Elkovitch, said that a state statute was established to correct court errors, and that it was not supposed to open the door to re-sentence defendants.

“The law says keep the valid part and fix the invalid part,” Elkovitch said. “Nearly 30 cases have come back to Cayuga County for post-release supervision issues, and Michelle is the only one to be singled out for re-sentencing. You are supposed to either give them post-release supervision or not give anything.”

After doing her own research on the law, Bellini decided to give Davis five years of post-release supervision.

On Friday, Davis who wore a black hat, sunglasses, scarf and leather jacket that partially concealed her face from the media as she walked into the courtroom, made no statements to the court or the media.

Davis will be credited for the 3.5 years she has already spent out of prison because she was illegally supervised by the state department of corrections, who attempted to impose the stipulation without a court order, Bellini said.

After Bellini read her decision, Budelmann said he was not surprised by the outcome.

“It was a long shot, but in this case we felt justice cried out that we got an enhanced sentence for Michelle Davis,” Budelmann said. “The sentence was not illegal in its range, it was just invalid without post-release supervision.”

But Elkovitch said he believed it would be unjust to re-sentence a defendant to prison, especially after she had completed the sentence and had spent the past 3.5 years as a free individual.

“I think that what the prosecutor wants violates America, it violates the Constitution and it violates the law,” Elkovitch said.

With all the renewed media attention focusing on his old case, Corning said he still believes he made the right decision when he sentenced Davis to six years in prison, which was one year more than the minimum allowed by law.

Corning also said his decision went along with a probation department and a Center for Community Advocates' report, which recommended the six-year sentence.

“I made that decision in light of the emotional situation,” Corning said. “Her actions cannot be condoned, but there was an element of pity for what she was going through, and that played a factor. ... I made that decision and I stand by it, and frankly, anyone other than the district attorney, had they been there, would have understood the decision.”

According to court transcripts from the original sentencing, Corning said he could not ignore the evidence that suggested Daniel had become physically and sexually abusive toward other students, his teachers and his mother.

“This court accepts as fact that the victim was an autistic child who manifested physical and sexual aggression against others, particularly against his mother,” Corning said in the transcript. “It is a finding of this court that the evidence clearly indicates the defendant was physically abused and sexually assaulted by the victim.”

According to a written argument issued by the district attorney's office, Davis never told investigators that Daniel had raped her until after she failed a lie detector test during the initial investigation.

As the sentencing progressed, Corning said that both a medical doctor and a psychiatrist testified that they believed Davis was suffering from rape trauma when she started the fire.

But Budelmann said he doubted Davis' rape accusations, and had previously stated that a third expert witness, Dr. Stephen Bauer, would have testified that Davis was never raped had the case gone to trial in 2000.

Leroy Leubner, Daniel's father and Davis' ex-husband, said he would continue to fight for justice for his son despite Bellini's decision.

“I was not surprised, but I was hoping it would have gone differently,” Leubner said. “It's not in the best interest of the courts (to re-sentence), and it could re-open a lot of doors for several other similar cases. This situation should never have happened. Even in family court, Corning left Danny with an unfit parent.”

Leubner said he believed that Corning, who was the judge for the family court hearings involving Daniel and his two sisters, not only made a mistake with the manslaughter sentence, but also with his determination not to enforce Leubner's visitation rights when his children refused to see their father.

According to family court documents from a hearing on Aug. 18, 1998, Corning said it was unusual for a child to refuse to visit with a parent, and added that he would not force the children to visit their father if they did not want to.

As she made her decision on Friday, Bellini said she believed Daniel's case represented a tragic failure for all of those involved.

“This is a tragedy on so many levels,” Bellini said. “The justice system failed Daniel and his father in the court proceedings. Six years was an extremely light sentence, and it would have been more if I had been presiding, but I think I have to be bound by the law as I make my decision.”

Cayuga County Sheriff's Office Detective Frederick Cornelius, who was one of the officers that investigated Daniel's death, said that while it was not his job to comment on the sentence itself, he believed Bellini made a well-researched decision.

“I don't make it a habit to comment on a judge's decision; it's an awesome responsibility and I do not question the job that they do,” Cornelius said. “I can't put myself in their shoes. I just support the judges in their decision, and I can tell that (Bellini) researched and evaluated this case, so I respect that.”

While Friday's hearing was nearly 20 minutes long, Bellini said she had spent two days and countless hours researching the case law and other legal issues regarding post-release supervision and re-sentencing.

“It was not my job to second guess a previous judge's decision, especially when I was not there, nor did I think it would be legal to do so,” Bellini said. “I don't think I set any precedent today. I just followed the law that was already there. I don't think you can go back and find a portion of the law that would say it would have been legal to re-sentence her.”

Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net