We have twice previously reported on Eyvette Hunter, 52, a registered nurse accused of murdering 97-year-old James Morris. Well, she’s now pleaded guilty, but she’s not going to spend the rest of her miserable life behind bars.

Lexington nurse pleads guilty after death of a 97-year-old patient

by Taylor Six | Thursday, April 13, 2023 | 9:36 AM EDT | Updated: 408 PM EDT

Eyvette Hunter, photo by Fayette County Detention Center, and is a public record.

A Lexington nurse who was charged with killing a patient has pleaded guilty to manslaughter after she was initially charged with murder.

Eyvette Hunter, 52, pleaded guilty Wednesday after participating in court-ordered mediation. She was accused of killing 97-year-old patient James Morris, who police said died as a result of Hunter’s intentional medical maltreatment. Morris died May 5 after Hunter’s actions a few days prior.

Hunter faces five years in prison for the amended charge of manslaughter, according to court documents. She was originally expected to stand trial June 12. Her sentencing is scheduled at 9 a.m. June 8 with Fayette Circuit Judge Thomas Travis.

Hunter’s attorney, Daniel Whitley, said her case was troubling on multiple levels and said she was used as a “scapegoat” for negligence of the hospitals.

“What I have learned about the criminal justice system, prosecutors can make anyone a murderer,” Whitley said. “When you are facing 20 (years) to life in prison, you sometimes have no other choice but to resolve your case and take a lesser charge even though you are innocent.”

Read more here.

Naturally her attorney is going to claim that Miss Hunter is just an innocent victim in all of this, but he believed that his case was winnable, believed that the commonwealth didn’t have the evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, wouldn’t he have advised his client to go to trial instead?

But my question is: why was Miss Hunter allowed to plead down to KRS §507.040(1)(c) second degree manslaughter, a Class C felony, and apparently, allow the minimum sentence? Under KRS §532.060, the penalty for a Class C felony is “not less than five (5) years nor more than ten (10) years” in prison.

Let’s be clear about this: she killed someone! And she’s getting off with, if more than a slap on the wrist, not a lot more considering her crime.