A 40-YEAR SENTENCE on an aggravated robbery charge was assessed James Harnage on Friday. A 5-year saga revolving around the murder of an Oakwood rancher came to an end Friday with the sentencing of the two perpetrators in Freestone county 87th District Court.

Sentencing came after a surprise guilty plea Tuesday afternoon from Oscar Roy Doster.

Co-defendant James Harnage pleaded guilty three weeks earlier under a plea bargain agreement in which he was to testify against Doster.

Both men were charged with capital murder in the April 2005 death of Freestone county ranch owner Dennis Courtney.

Doster pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of murder and was given a consecutive life sentence, escaping the death penalty.

He is to serve the life sentence concurrently with a death penalty sentence assessed two years ago in Alabama for a murder he committed there.

Harnage will serve a 40-year term a plea bargained charge of aggravated robbery in the Courtney case, concurrently with a life term in Alabama on another aggravated robbery charge.

WITH A GUILTY PLEA Oscar Roy Doster received a life sentence Friday on a reduced charge of murder. The two men were to be transported immediately to Alabama.

Doster and Harnage were escapees from jail in Covington county, Alabama, when the Freestone county murder was committed.

Courtney was murdered and his body placed between two outbuildings, and a pickup truck and 4-wheeler were taken.

Doster was arrested about two weeks after the murder after he had a wreck on the stolen 4-wheeler near Bakersfield, Calif., and Harnage was arrested in Las Vegas, Nev., in possession of Courtney’s truck.

Judge Deborah Oakes Evans did not mince words when addressing Doster.

“You committed the worst crime imaginable – murder. Taking someone’s life is a horrible thing. You chose a path of criminal behavior. While going about your business of a life of crime – theft, burglary, drugs and escape – you took the life of a productive member of society,” she said.

She pointed out that during Doster’s Alabama capital murder trial, the jury struggled with imposing the death penalty after he was found guilty. In the end, the jury could not stomach a death sentence, and instead gave him a life sentence, but the judge in that trial overruled the jury and assessed the death penalty.

“The jury just couldn’t do it, but you took Mr. Courtney’s life without a second thought. I don’t feel you have any remorse. I don’t think you have a conscience or a soul. You’re never going to walk free again.”

Evans continued: “You and Texas should have never crossed paths. My hope is that you will never come back to Texas. We all rue the day you set foot in Freestone county.”

After remanding Doster to the custody of the Freestone county sheriffs department, she explained the victim impact statement portion of the hearing.

“We are going to listen to what the family has to say. I’m tired of hearing about Mr. Doster,” Evans said. “I’m ready to hear some things about Mr. Courtney.”

The victim’s wife spoke first.

“I had decided I didn’t want to make a statement because it wouldn’t change anything,” Mrs. Courtney said. “But since you asked about Dennis, I can tell you about him. He was a wonderful husband. Everybody loved him. He had such goals for our future. He was going to be there for us to enjoy.”

She began to sob in anguish. A portrait slide of Mr. Courtney was displayed on a large screen at the front of the courtroom.

“He was giving, generous, full of fun and laughter. Life has changed for all of us. We miss him and will always miss him,” she finished.

Next to speak was Mr. Courtney’s son, Dennis Jr.

“There’s nothing positive I can say about Doster at all, so I’ll just tell you about my dad,” he said. “I miss my dad and I will continue to miss him. I can’t just get on the phone and call him for any kind of advice. Sometimes a son needs their dad. His number is still programmed into my cell phone.”

He pointed at Doster.

“I don’t have my father in my life because of this man,” he declared.

Courtney’s older daughter spoke next, and echoed her brother’s statements.

“I still have his cell number as well and can’t bring myself to delete it, even though I know I’ll never use it again,” she said. “I have dealt with so much bitterness towards Doster for what he did that it has made me physically sick. I had to do something to deal with my emotions and help rid myself of so much bitterness, so I wrote this letter two years ago to Doster. I hope you are listening,” she said to the convicted murderer.

She continued, reading from the typed letter in her hand: “I pray for you and your eternal soul. God says to forgive and that’s what I’ve had to do to keep these feelings from killing me from the inside out. Forgiving you is almost impossible for us to do.”

She concluded by telling Doster, “You did not kill my dad. He lives in Heaven.”

Courtney’s youngest son spoke next, and told of how his father’s life was not the only one lost.

He pointed out that his father was a Vietnam veteran, a former police officer, and would have given Doster anything he wanted on the day of the robbery.

“You didn’t have to kill him,” he said.

He also spoke of the difficulty his children are having with losing their grandfather, and spoke sadly of a second loss that resulted from the first.

“Not only did you kill my father, you killed one of my children,” he said. “My wife was pregnant and lost the child due to stress from all of this.”

Last to speak at Doster’s hearing was a friend of the family, who addressed Doster directly.

“The hardest thing I have ever done in my life is to tell my friend that his father was gone, his life taken by someone else’s hand,” she said. “And his 5- year-old child asked a question I couldn’t answer: Why can’t Pawpaw wake up?”

“Why can’t he wake up, Doster?” she asked.

“He took a lot from this family,” she continued. “And I want the people to know what was taken from this world.”

The accused had nothing to say during the entire hearing.

Judge Evans concluded Doster’s hearing by saying, “Maybe you’ll never come back to Texas. That’s our hope, that we never see you again.”

The sentencing hearing for Harnage was held Friday afternoon, and Judge Evans pointed out, “You pled guilty to aggravated robbery, but you committed murder. You were offered a better deal to testify against Doster. You committed a horrible crime. You were present when he was murdered.”

“Whether you just robbed or actually killed Dennis Courtney, you were a part of changing this family’s life in a negative way. We will, however, assess your punishment with regards to the agreement.”

Judge Evans sentenced him to 40 years in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison, and he also has a life sentence to serve in Alabama for aggravated robbery.

“Now, you will sit there and listen to what the family has to say,” she stated.

Courtney’s daughter spoke first, saying she missed her father and dreamed of him all the time.

“I have dealt with so much bitterness towards Harnage for what he did, that it has made me physically ill. So I wrote this letter two years ago to him, and I hope he is listening.”

She read a letter that restated everything she said to Doster earlier in the day, saying again, “You did not kill my father, because he lives in Heaven.”

Dennis Courtney, Jr. spoke next, stating that he was aware that Harnage “cut a deal to testify against Doster. But with my knowledge of the law, I know about principal versus accessory, and I believe you are a principal in this murder.”

“We as a family are never going to have the truth of this matter, because the truth doesn’t come easily to your kind.”

“If, and I say if, you did not actually strike the blow to kill my father, why didn’t you stop it? I still believe you were the principal because you were later caught in Las Vegas with my dad’s belongings,” Courtney said.

“Self-preservation kicked in at some point, and you put it all on Doster.”

Jury selection in Doster’s trial started July 19 with a panel of 350 prospective jurors called. Five jurors had been selected when Doster entered his guilty plea, ending the court process.