Jacqmain to prison; Indy family unhappy

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The family of an Indianapolis man stabbed to death two years ago at a Walker motel were disappointed the death penalty was not an option for his killer. But 54-year-old Jack Jacqmain will be a very old man or will die in prison when his sentence is complete.

Judge James Redford sentenced him to 40-80 years in prison.

Jacqmain, who stabbed Mark Moore to death at a Motel 6 in August 2010 , was sentenced to betwen 40-80 years in prison for second-degree murder.

"I screwed up," Jacqmain said in garbled sentences in court Monday afternoon. "I didn't mean to get in a fight with that guy."

Moore was in West Michigan on business and was staying at the Motel 6.  That night, Jacqmain had threatened several people at the motel.

"I should have closed the door and let bygones be bygones," Jacqmain told the court.

Over two years, a series of hearings on Jacqmain's mental health caused the delays. It took time for Jacqmain to be found competent to stand trial. In August, he pleaded guilty to second degree murder, but mentally ill.

Moore's sister, mother and father expressed their frustration in court and wished Michigan had the death penalty.

"You have no right to be living," said Moore's sister, Stacia Barnes. "And you should be put to death. And the face that you aren't makes me so angry and tears me up inside."

"A dog bites somebody, they put it down," said Barbara Moore. "I wish Michigan had the death penalty, because I would be there to see them execute you."

A convicted bank robber with a history of mental issues -- including making threats towards others -- Jacqmain was allowed to walk away from a local mental health facility six days before killing Moore.

"He was out in no time at all," said David Moore, Mark Moore's father. "He had an offense and in my opinion he should have went back to prison for it."

At the time of the murder, Judge Redford said Jacqmain still had the clarity of thought to run. He fled the area and was found in Missouri about a week later.