Convicted Murderer Asks Judge for Letter Recommending Drug Treatment

Thank you for reading Baltimore Witness. Help us continue our mission into 2024.

On Oct. 14, a man convicted of murder in 2019 dismissed his motion for sentence modification before Baltimore City Circuit Judge Gregory Sampson.

Defendant Jeffrey Miller withdrew his motion to modify his sentence in hopes it would improve his chances of getting into a drug treatment program.

Defense attorney Michael Cooper informed the court that his client is “desperately trying” to get into programs at the prison where he is being housed.

Cooper asked Judge Sampson to write a letter to the Department of Corrections on behalf of Miller, 47, asking for him to be placed into an opioid treatment program. Judge Sampson granted his request.

According to the Maryland Judiciary website, in August 2019, the defendant entered an Alford plea, which is when a defendant pleads guilty but maintains their innocence.

He was sentenced to 20 years for the use of a firearm in a felony violent crime; a concurrent sentence of five years for possession of a firearm with a felony conviction; and then a consecutive sentence of 30 years, suspending 30 years with three years of supervised probation for attempted second-degree murder stemming from an October 2018 shooting.

Miller plans to refile for a sentence modification within a year.