Even though convicted murderer Patricia A. Brown and the Court had to wait for 40 minutes for her defense attorney to arrive for Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Brown has a long time to wait anyway, a lifetime in fact.

Sumter Superior Court Chief Judge R. Rucker Smith, decided to hold the sentencing hearing prior to scheduled probation revocation hearings on Thursday at the Sumter County Law Enforcement Center (LEC).

Brown, dressed in forest green prison utilities, appeared composed when she was brought into the courtroom in shackles, and calmly looked around the courtroom while awaiting the arrival of her attorney, Ed Cannington of Lumpkin.

After about 10 minutes, as several people related to the case filed into the small courtroom to take seats, Brown was taken out of the public eye to a holding cell until the arrival of Cannington.

Meanwhile the judge held two probation hearings.

When Cannington did arrive and the sentencing hearing readjourned, Cannington was apologetic.

“I apologize for being late, your honor,” he said. “I was late leaving home ... and it was foggy.”

The defense attorney said, in addressing the Court, “ I did a terrible job in this case,” explaining that he had a psychological evaluation done on his client. But he said he should have had a more thorough evaluation done because , “it’s not that she wasn’t competent during the commission of the crimes, but that she was unable to assist me in arguing her defense of the crime.”

Cannington said Brown came to the trial without her statement, of which he had only one copy, that she sat during jury selection and gave him no guidance, and that he would explain proceedings to her and the next day she would not recall their conversations.

“I accept the responsibility for not catching this sooner,” he said.

Brown, asked if she wanted to address the Court, rose and said, “I feel like I’m not being treated right,” as her voiced cracked and a few sobs escaped. “I’ve lost my life and my freedom, away from my family and children. I’m sorry somebody died, but I had nothing to do with it.”

The judge sentenced Patricia Ann Brown to serve life in prison and to serve 20 years on probation concurrently with her prison sentence.

Brown had been found guilty of robbery and felony murder by a Sumter Superior Court jury on July 18. The jury took a couple of hours to reach their verdict.

Brown, then age 37, was charged in the January 2006 robbery and felony murder of Eugene B. Clark, 47.

The trial judge made the decision to delay the sentencing hearing because of the emotional display of the victim’s family and friends and Brown’s family and friends after the verdict was read.