Less than a month after a federal appellate court rejected her appeal for a reduced sentence, Jordan Graham has filed a petition for a rehearing.
Graham, 23, was convicted of second-degree murder in 2013 after she pushed her husband of seven days off a cliff in Glacier National Park.
In November, Graham’s attorneys and federal prosecutors met before three Nine Circuit Court of Appeals judges in Portland, Oregon, a year and a half after she was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. She is currently incarcerated at a federal prison in Alabama.
Graham stood trial in December 2013, but on the fourth day she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
In the appeal, Federal Public Defender Michael Donahoe argued that Graham’s sentence was extreme. He also criticized federal prosecutors for alleging that Graham may have planned the murder in their sentencing recommendation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus responded that they simply made a recommendation and that U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy made the final decision on sentencing.
On Nov. 19, the three-judge panel denied Graham’s appeal and ruled that government did not breach any plea deal. However, Graham’s defense attorneys were allowed to appeal the decision if they believe the judge’s panel overlooked any facts in the case. The defense team did just that and on Dec. 1, the appellate court filed a motion giving Graham’s attorneys until Jan. 11 to file their petition for a rehearing.