By Staff
From Staff Reports
Two former Nokomis residents will stay in prison for at least another five years.
Shannon Dean Barlow and Franklin Barlow Jr. were denied parole Monday in the killings of their stepmother and stepsister 12 years ago.
Shannon Barlow, 15 at the time of the murders, was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences after a plea agreement with prosecutors. Franklin Barlow was sentenced to two life terms. Neither was supposed to be eligible for parole for 30 years, but overcrowding in prisons and other policy changes forced changes to be made in the parole system.
On Sunday, October 10, 1993, Shannon Barlow went out with his brother and Albert Ganoe "Rocky" Beasley. After allegedly consuming alcohol and smoking marijuana, he returned home with the other two and began calling his stepmother. When she opened the door, he shot her in the forehead with a .410-gauge shotgun. He testified that he then entered the home and went to the room of his stepsister, Angel Hall – who was 12 years old – and shot her in the face with the shotgun. Autopsy reports claimed the girl was also raped – a charge, which the Barlows adamantly deny.
Shannon Barlow has later claimed that his attorneys did not adequately protect him in the murder trial, that he was too young and that he was not allowed to withdraw his plea. He currently represents himself.
The brothers will become eligible for parole again in 2010, the maximum allotted time to become eligible for parole.