A Grays Harbor County man who was convicted on three counts of murder when he was a teenager could be granted his release from state prison soon after being resentenced.
Brian Bassett, who was convicted of killing his parents and 5-year-old brother Austin in their McCleary home when he was 16 in August 1995, was resentenced in Grays Harbor County Superior Court on Thursday, Aug. 18, after a lengthy plea for his release.
Bassett had been in and out of the Grays Harbor County courthouse since 2019, pleading for his release, when the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that life sentences for teenagers violated the Eighth Amendment regarding cruel and unusual punishments, and were therefore deemed unconstitutional. He was originally sentenced in April 1996 to three terms of life in prison without parole.
Judge Sharonda Amamilo, who oversaw the hearing on Aug. 4, resentenced Bassett to concurrently running sentences of 25 years for two counts in the murder of his parents, and 28 years for a third count related to the murder of Austin. Given that Bassett has already served 26 years for the convicted crimes, this opens the door to possible release within two years.
In her decision-making, Judge Amamilo cited Bassett’s growth and a lack of threat he poses now.
“The Bassett Family, McCleary, and the Grays Harbor community at large, need to know that Mr. Bassett is not likely to be a threat to anyone when released,” Judge Amamilo stated in her opinion. “He has shown efforts to improve himself while in custody and going above and beyond in his actions to improve himself.”
Judge Amamilo noted that based on Department of Corrections documentation, as well as the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board, Bassett had shown he could be eligible for release on the counts of murder of his parents and that if he were to continue his current path of growth, it would be expected that the board would again find that he should be released.
The state, however, is still calling for a prolonged sentence. In resentencing discussions for Bassett, the state had asked for a concurrently running sentence of 38 years for Counts 1 and 2, and 40 years for Count 3. The request was backed by Bassett’s sister, Stephanie Bassett. When she took the stand on Aug. 4, Stephanie said she fears her brother will come after her given the personal belief that she would have been killed too if she was home at the time of the 1995 murders.
When he gains release, Bassett would have a mandated anti-harassment and lifetime no-contact order against his sister.
