A retired firefighter who shot his ex-wife in the head will receive probation instead of a jail sentence thanks to her plea to the judge.
Terry Harris pleaded with Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak to place her former husband on intensive probation instead of the 20 to 50 years he faced for attempted murder charges, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report.
Otis G. Harris, 75, pleaded guilty to battery, a class C felony, and admitted he shot Terry Harris on Dec. 18, 2010, at a home in Crown Point, the report said. Terry Harris suffered serious bodily injury and has hearing loss and disfigurement as a result of the shooting, said the report.
The defense attorney said Harris was a retired firefighter for 28 years and was a law-abiding citizen except for the shooting incident, according to the report.
Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr. said he was reluctant to accept a plea agreement calling for probation, but accepted the agreement that called for an eight-year sentence on probation and $11,269 in restitution, the report said.
Stefaniak said in the report that while he did not agree wholeheartedly with the plea agreement terms, he understood why Terry Harris asked for it.
For more on the story, see the Chicago Sun-Times.
