Judge Commends Homicide Defendant for Favorable Probation Report

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A homicide defendant, who was granted compassionate release from prison in Octoberdue to the COVID-19 pandemic, was reported to be doing generally well on probation.

Back in 2016, Loretta Beckwith was sentenced to serve 7.5 years for voluntary manslaughter for stabbing her 54-year-old boyfriend, Kenneth Fogle, with a kitchen knife following an argument they had in a hallway outside their basement apartment on the 3200 block of 23rd Street, SE on June 13, 2015.

During the Oct. 11 probation review hearing, the second one since her release, a Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) representative said that Beckwith has secured stable housing in DC, has not tested positive for illicit substances and is making progress in maintaining communication with them.

“I feel like [things are] going slow, but much better,” Beckwith told Judge Julie Becker, who congratulated her on her progress.

In 2020, the defendant, now 53, motioned for a compassionate release.

She wrote a letter to DC Superior Court Judge Rhonda Reid-Winston, detailing the steps she has taken towards rehabilitation while living at a medium security prison in West Virginia. She took several classes, never received a disciplinary report and maintained a job until the pandemic, according to her letter.

She also outlined her several medical conditions, which could put her at a higher risk if she contracts the coronavirus.

“I’m very afraid for my life,” she wrote to the judge. “I don’t want to die here.”

Last October, Judge Reid-Winston granted the motion, reducing her sentence to time served and putting her on five years of supervised probation. Conditions of the probation include a mental health screening and evaluation as well as mental health and substance abuse assessment and treatment.

Judge Becker decided not to schedule another follow up hearing.

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