Man convicted in murders of Amy Shute, Jason Burgeson wants to be freed. Here's his argument.

PROVIDENCE — One of the five men convicted in the deadly carjacking in 2000 that left a young couple dead is seeking to have his sentence reduced.

Raymond Anderson, 43, is asking the court to cut time from the 30-year sentence he is serving for the deaths of Amy Shute, 21, and Jason Burgeson, 20, based on changes to federal sentencing guidelines.

“[I]t is hard to argue keeping a man who all but learned his lesson in prison for even longer, when if he was given the same sentence today, he would have been out already,” Anderson wrote in asking that he be released on time served.

Anderson is currently serving in a medium-security federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, with a 2032 release date.

Federal prosecutors acknowledged in their response that Anderson is eligible for a reduction of up to 36 months on the carjacking sentence and 16 months for assault for attacking a corrections officer in 2002.

But they argue the 30 years he is serving for conspiring with the others to carjack and later kill Shute and Burgeson should stay intact based on the horrific nature of the crimes.

They faulted Anderson for being with the group of would-be killers as they prowled downtown Providence in search of potential victims. It was Anderson, they said, who ordered Shute and Burgeson to exit their carjacked vehicle once they reached Button Hole Golf Course in Johnston, and that he removed jewelry from Shute just before the couple was shot execution-style in their heads.

Anderson reluctantly agreed to testify against the others after initially refusing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Zurier dismissed that testimony as “anemic, vague and self-serving” and “minimally effective.”

“Defendant’s attempt to minimize his role in this heinous crime should be categorically rejected," Zurier said. "While it is true that he was not the shooter, he played an essential role in the carjacking and events that preceded the murder of two innocent souls."

She also cited numerous offenses Anderson had committed while imprisoned, including that officials had deemed him a risk to become a sexual predator.

'Inappropriate' denigration

Anderson’s lawyer, Kevin J. Fitzgerald, accused federal prosecutors of inappropriately denigrating his client by repeating graphic arguments about the horrible nature of the case and mischaracterizing his prison disciplinary record without providing context.

“The court is left to assume the worst — that Mr. Anderson is some kind of serial rapist who will harm people if and when he is released," Fitzgerald said. "The government cannot simply throw unsubstantiated innuendo out for the court’s consideration." He criticized the government for resorting to base arguments to sway the court.

“The government needs to recognize it is responsible for Mr. Anderson’s safety in the [U.S. Bureau of Prisons], and it failed," Fitzgerald said.

"Mr. Anderson’s circumstance of being a cooperator, having a long sentence, being Black and being young when incarcerated all contributed to his negative experiences in the [Bureau of Prisons]. Each of those factors can dictate how an inmate might be treated and mistreated during his sentence and by whom."

The murder of Amy Shute and Jason Burgeson

Anderson, Harry Burdick, Kenneth Day, Gregory Floyd and Sammie Sanchez decided to rob and carjack Burgeson and Shute during a robbery spree the night of June 8, 2000, in downtown Providence. They stole Burgeson's SUV with the couple inside on Westminster Street in Providence and drove to Button Hole Golf Course in Johnston. There, Kenneth Day urged that they kill Burgeson and Shute because they had seen his face. Floyd fired the gun, killing Burgeson and Shute, who were clutching each other, with shots to their heads.

Anderson, Burdick, Floyd and Sanchez pleaded guilty in agreements that spared them the death penalty. Day's case was tossed in federal court but he was then tried and found guilty in state court. He was sentenced to four consecutive life-without-parole sentences.

The gunman, Floyd, died in prison in February 2021.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Defendant in Amy Shute, Jason Burgeson murders wants early prison release