A man convicted of murder and arson in connection with the 2008 fire that killed Detroit firefighter Walter Harris will spend 41 ½ to 62 ½ years in prison, a judge ruled today for the second time.
Mario Willis received the same sentence he got after he was convicted of second-degree murder and arson after testimony that he paid one of his employees $20 to set fire to a house owned by his then-girlfriend, the Free Press reports.
Steve Kirschner, a battalion chief who worked with Harris for years, was in the courtroom Friday with other firefighters and said Willis displayed he same arrogance and refusal to take responsibility for his acts as he had at his first sentencing.
"It was very satisfying to see an individual like that get the justice he deserves," Kirschner said.
Harris, a popular firefighter who spent his entire career at the engine house on E. Grand Boulevard near the Packard Plant, died trying to put out a blaze in an abandoned house when the roof collapsed. The man convicted of setting the blaze, Darian Dove, was sentenced in 2010 to 17-30 years in prison.
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Michael Callahan originally sentenced Willis to 41 ½ to 62 ½ years on the murder charge, with about 10 to 20 years for arson, ordering him to serve both sentences at the same time.
Willis appealed, and the Michigan Court of Appeals sent the case back to Callahan for resentencing, questioning why Callahan disregarded the presentence investigation’s suggested sentence of about 18 to 31 years in prison on the murder charge. In their decision, the Appeals Court judges said Callahan “did not justify the extent of its departure in this case.”
