Donlon not guilty of murder

PALMER — After three days of deliberation, a jury Tuesday afternoon chose to set Lisa Donlon free.

Shortly after the verdict in the month-long trial, Donlon’s attorneys, Zachary Renfro and Windy Hannaman, sat in front of a window in the Palmer Courthouse hallway looking relieved.

“I’m really happy,” Renfro said. “I think they did the right thing and I’m thankful that they gave her the chance of getting her family and her life back.”

For his part, District Attorney Roman Kalytiak said in an emailed statement that he accepts the verdict.

“As I said in my closing argument, the very purpose of juries is to decide cases like this one. The fact that the jurors deliberated for nearly three days shows that there were significant issues. Winning or losing was not the paramount concern of the prosecutors in this case — it was making sure the jurors had all the pertinent information. In a case such as this, where a human being was shot in the back, taking it before a jury was a better option than a dismissal or plea bargain. While the criminal case is over and the jury found the killing was justified, the issue of whether killing a sleeping person is morally justifiable will likely continue to be a matter of public and private debate,” Kalytiak wrote.

Donlon was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in the October 2010 shooting death of her husband, Jason Donlon, who evidence indicated was shot in the back while sleeping.

But from the beginning, Lisa Donlon told law enforcement she’d been tortured by her husband for three days leading up to the shooting in the couple’s Butte-area home. The evidence in the case — from bruises on her body to a hook tied over the couple’s bed to statements from family friends who’d been informed of the couple’s tempestuous relationship — backed up her claims.

Prosecutors in 2010 at first decided not to arrest her. The Palmer Grand Jury declined to charge her, though jurors later reversed that decision. Two and a half years passed before Donlon’s case went to trial, concluding March 28.

Hannaman and Renfro argued that their client had acted in self-defense, that her husband had told her in no uncertain terms that she was going to die the day she shot him.

Kalytiak argued for the prosecution that Donlon had other options, pointing to multiple times over the course of the three days when she could have fled from her husband. He also pointed to divorce proceedings the couple never completed and to offers from friends of places to stay.

He also solicited testimony from Jason Donlon’s family, who said he was a loving father and that they’d never known him to be abusive or known Lisa Donlon to be the type of person who would tolerate such treatment.

The jury deliberated Friday, Monday and most of Tuesday, returning its innocent on all counts verdict at 3:10 p.m.

Jason and Lisa Donlon had three children together, at least two of whom testified at trial. They have been living with family while Lisa Donlon was incarcerated.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.