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35-Year Sentence In Baylor Slay

According to court documents, a former Baylor basketball player who pleaded guilty to killing his teammate two years ago told authorities that he thought people were trying to kill him because he "is Jesus, the Son of God."

Carlton Dotson, 23, was sentenced to 35 years in prison Wednesday, a week after he unexpectedly pleaded guilty to murdering his teammate, Patrick Dennehy, 21, two years ago.

Instead of hearing from witnesses Wednesday, state District Judge Ralph Strother made his decision based on documents filed by prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Part of the prosecution's report included FBI documents detailing Dotson's confession, in which he said "a higher power told him to talk to the FBI" and told authorities where to look for Dennehy. The body was found a few days later.

He told FBI agents that one day Dennehy pointed a gun at him after the pair went to gravel pits for target practice. When Dennehy's gun jammed, Dotson said "Father, please forgive me," and shot his friend. He then went to pack his belongings, called a relative to wire him money and drove home to Maryland, throwing the gun in a lake along the way.

But the autopsy doesn't support his self-defense claim. Dennehy was shot twice: once above the right ear and once behind it toward the back of the head.
Last fall, Dotson was found incompetent to stand trial and was sent to a state mental hospital. He was released and returned to jail in February after a hospital psychologist said Dotson's accounts of hearing voices and seeing things were "suspect." The doctor said Dotson was competent but must keep taking anti-psychotic medication.

His attorneys did not pursue an insanity defense.

Meanwhile, Baylor is waiting on the expected summer release of an NCAA report on whether the school faces more sanctions in addition to Baylor's self-imposed penalties.

Allegations of NCAA violations surfaced after Dennehy's disappearance and death, and men's coach Dave Bliss and athletic director Tom Stanton later resigned.

An internal Baylor investigative committee later found that Bliss improperly paid up to $40,000 in tuition for Dennehy and another player, and that the coaching staff didn't report players' failed drug tests. Bliss also asked players and an assistant coach to lie to investigators by saying Dennehy paid his tuition by dealing drugs.

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