Seven witnesses including the two victims, a family member, an ophthalmologist, two ambulance personnel, and a police officer all testified over the course of a sentencing hearing that has now concluded in the Sanjay Lewis case. Lewis pled guilty back in October of 2020 to charges of Aggravated Domestic Battery and Aggravated Battery. That sentence hearing began on January 25th.
Originally, Lewis was charged with 2 counts of Attempted First Degree Murder along with the battery charges after authorities said Lewis stabbed his then girlfriend Savannah Earl and her friend Paige York. It was the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 17th last year when police say Lewis viciously attacked the two women. Savannah Earl ended up having to have one of her eyes removed following the attack and she lost some vision in the other eye as well as some teeth. The other victim sustained a stab wound to her stomach and shoulder.
A manhunt ensued over the next few days before authorities finally caught Lewis in a wooded area near I-64. Grayville Police, Illinois State Police, the White County Sheriff’s Department, Carmi PD, and the Edwards County Sheriff’s Department all cooperated in the case.
State’s Attorney Aud says that while typically class 2 felonies have a sentencing range of 2-7 years and extended range of 7-14 years, due to Lewis’ history of being a habitual offender, he has been sentenced as a class X offender earning him more years behind bars. In the end, 46 year old Sanjay Lewis will serve 30 years in prison along with 4 years of supervised release. The nature of the charges will ensure that Lewis serves at least 85% of his sentence. Ultimately, he’ll be at least 71 (with 25 years served) before he’s eligible for parole.
Aud released the following statement:
“The defendant’s conduct, as Judge Webb agreed, was accompanied by exceptionally brutal and heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty. The result of what he did is horrific and life changing; he has proven that he deserves to be in prison for what will essentially be most if not all of the remainder of his life. I appreciate Judge Webb making the findings that he did and sentencing him to the 30 years in prsion. I also appreciate the hard work of all those that assisted in this case. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families; we pray that they will ultimately receive some sort of closure knowing that he will be in prison for at least the next quarter century.”
