Killer bride's appeal denied

The United States 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy’s 2014 ruling that sent a Kalispell woman to federal prison for 30 years for killing her husband Cody Johnson, 25, by pushing him off a cliff in Glacier National Park on July 7, 2013, just over a week after they were married.

Jordan Linn Graham, 24, had appealed the sentence on grounds that prosecutors and Molloy had reneged on a plea deal that allowed her to plead guilty to second degree murder. Graham was sent to prison for the maximum 30-year sentence.

During sentencing, it was discussed whether or not the crime was premeditated — something defense attorneys said should not have been included once Graham pleaded guilty to a lesser murder charge.

The judges of the 9th Circuit disagreed.

“The government did not breach the plea agreement by arguing premeditation because the agreement contained no provision, express or implied, limiting such arguments,” the court ruled. “The government satisfied its obligations under the plea agreement when it dismissed the first-degree murder charge and the false statements charge in exchange for Graham’s plea to second degree murder.”

Graham is imprisoned in a low-security facility in Aliceville, Alabama.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459.