A former Mebane resident who was convicted of first-degree rape in 1992, Jessie Ernest Handy, Sr., now 68, white male, may be paroled.
Handy was 38 and living at 636-C, Lot 30, at the Shady Grove Mobile Home Park along U.S. Highway 70 in Mebane when he was charged with a rape and second-degree sexual offense that occurred on October 11, 1991, according to his court file.
Handy was subsequently convicted of both charges and sentenced to life in prison at the conclusion of his trial in Alamance County superior court in March 1992.
The North Carolina Parole Commission is now investigating Handy’s case for possible parole, the commission announced earlier this month. Sentencing laws that were in place when Handy was convicted require the parole commission to conduct an annual review of all cases involving offenders who may be eligible to be paroled.
The state’s current Structured Sentencing laws eliminated the possibility of parole for certain crimes committed on or after October 1, 1994, according to the N.C. Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission.
The North Carolina Supreme Court declined in July 1994 Handy’s request to review an earlier ruling by the N.C. Court of Appeals that upheld his convictions.
Handy and two other men were convicted of raping and sexually assaulting a mentally-disabled woman, then 21, during the trial in Alamance County superior court trial in March 1992.
Rodney Dale King, then 28, white male, was convicted of first-degree rape and sentenced to life in prison, according to the North Carolina Department of Corrections (DOC).
Sammy Harris Daniel, then 22, white male, was convicted of a second-degree sexual offense and sentenced to 12 years in prison in March 1992. He was paroled in July 1997, according to the DOC.
Handy is currently incarcerated at the Alexander Correctional Institution, a close-security prison for men located about 110 miles southwest of Alamance County in Taylorsville.
