Tyson’s Sentence, Status on Appeal Will Be Determined This Morning

Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, convicted here Feb. 10 on three rape-related felony counts, will be sentenced this morning by Judge Patricia J. Gifford.

Tyson could be given a sentence of up to 60 years, but it is expected that his sentence will be close to the minimum of six years. Gifford can suspend all or part of his sentence, but Marion County prosecutor Jeffrey Modisett has said he will ask that Tyson be sent to prison for six to 10 years.

The fighter is expected to appeal his conviction and has hired Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz as his attorney. Also to be determined today is whether Tyson may remain free on $30,000 bond during his appeal.

Greg Garrison, chief prosecutor at the trial, does not want Tyson free on appeal. “He is a very violent man who engaged in a strong, very purposeful act, and there is no excuse to let him out so he can do it again,” Garrison said.

The Marion County prosecutor’s office will also try to persuade Gifford that Tyson, not county taxpayers, should pay costs incurred in prosecuting him. David J. Dreyer, chief counsel for the prosecutor’s office, set the Tyson trial costs at $150,047, which include: $38,000 for jury food and lodging, $34,416 for travel costs for witnesses, and $20,000 for Garrison’s fee.

Tyson, 25, was convicted of one felony count of rape and two counts of deviate sexual conduct. The charges were brought against him by Desiree Washington, 18, a Rhode Island beauty pageant contestant. She testified at the three-week trial that Tyson lured her to his Indianapolis hotel room and raped her last summer.