A former Elmira Jackals hockey player will be sentenced today in Chemung County Court for the death of his wife. Thomas Clayton’s attorneys tried unsuccessfully last week to get the sentencing delayed because the jury got it wrong, according to his attorney Ray Schlater. Clayton was found guilty earlier this year of hiring another man, Michael Beard, to kill his wife Kelley. The judge rejected the request of defense attorney Ray Schlather to delay sentencing, saying he didn’t see any evidence that testimony during the seven-week trial was based on faulty assumptions. After seven weeks in court, Clayton was found guilty in February of hiring another man, Michael Beard, to kill his wife Kelley. The prosecution wants Clayton to get the maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
