Woman gets 15 years in '02 killing of man

Watkins' son said he will never forgive the women who killed his father.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A somber Deborah Graham, 41, asked for forgiveness after pleading guilty Friday to the March 2002 murder of Ulysses Watkins.
Graham, of Columbus, originally was charged with aggravated murder, but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of murder. Watkins was 57.
Judge Maureen A. Sweeney sentenced Graham to a mandatory sentence of 15 years in prison.
She will receive credit for the 1,313 days she has been in Mahoning County Jail since surrendering to authorities after the shooting and for the time she served here before being transported to prison.
"I know that God has forgiven me. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, too," she said to the court and members of Watkins' family, who quietly watched the proceeding.
During victim statements, Watkins' mother, Mattie Pegram of Youngstown, said, "I'll forgive her, but I'll never forget."
"I loved her [Graham] like she was a daughter, and she shot him down like a vicious animal. She don't know what she did to this family. She tore it up," Pegram said.
Forgiveness was not in the heart of Watkins' son, Trevor Ulysses Watkins, who found his father's body outside their home at 330 S. Truesdale Ave. after hearing shots.
He said he would neither forgive nor forget.
"I got married last year, and my father didn't see it. I will graduate from Youngstown State University, and my father won't be there. I found my father that night shot," he said.
Trevor Watkins said he was frustrated by the courts because of delays in completing the case, and he vowed to make sure that Graham never gets paroled.
"I've already started writing a letter to the parole board," he said.
The killing
Police found Watkins with a gunshot wound to the back outside his home on the city's East Side about 1 a.m. March 26, 2002. The police investigation concluded that Graham shot Watkins after an argument.
Graham's case had been reset for a variety of reasons over the years, leading to Trevor Watkins' frustration with the justice system. She spent the entire time in county jail because she was unable to post $500,000 bond.
As part of the plea bargain agreement, Graham withdrew her plea of innocent to the aggravated murder charge with a gun specification. In pleading guilty, Graham gave up the right to a jury trial. In addition to the 15-years-to-life sentence, Judge Sweeney also ordered five years of probation after she has served her sentence.
Graham was represented Friday by Atty. John B. Juhasz, who was sitting in for Atty. Dennis DiMartino. The state was represented by Assistant Prosecutor Robert Andrews.