Abbott appeals term in Sitka murder case  Posted: Thursday,
April 08, 2010  A Sitka man convicted of multiple murders at his
grandparents' Sitka home filed an appeal challenging his
140-year prison sentence.  Jason Abbott pleaded "guilty, but
mentally ill" last year to the 2008 stabbings that left four
dead and a fifth in critical condition.  In February, Sitka
Superior Court Judge David George sentenced Abbott to 140 years
in prison.  George estimated that Abbott, 20, would be eligible
for parole when he is about 70 years old.  Prosecutors and
members of Abbott's family who spoke at the sentence hearing
asked the judge to impose a maximum sentence of 218 years,
without the possibility of parole.  In a court filing last
month, Dan Bair, of the state Office of Public Advocacy, listed
three points of appeal.  Bair said the sentence was excessive
for a defendant who had pleaded guilty but mentally ill. He also
argued George had erred in "not imposing more time
concurrently," and that the Sitka judge should have