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Ex-Xerox GC Sentenced to 15 Years for Ex-Wife's Brutal Beating

By Mark Wilson, Esq. on September 15, 2014 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Back in July, John Michael Farren was found guilty of attempted murder for beating his wife, Mary Margaret Farren, nearly to death at their Connecticut mansion in 2010. Farren was a former deputy White House counsel for the George W. Bush administration who, at the time of the assault, was general counsel for Xerox.

But it wasn't over yet. In December, we blogged about the outcome of Farren's civil suit. He was found liable for assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress to the tune of $28.6 million.

Farren represented himself -- apparently not that successfully -- at both the criminal and civil trials.

Time to Pay the Piper

On Thursday, Judge Richard Comerford sentenced Farren to 15 years in prison for his ex-wife's beating, which was actually far less than the 50 years he could have faced.

When given the opportunity to address the court, Farren talked only about his appeal, reported John Nickerson of the Hearst Connecticut Media Group. Farren said he believed the verdict would be reversed because "a stay was in place when the trial took place and he did not have his choice of attorney during trial."

Comerford was less than impressed that Farren used his time to talk about his appeal rather than express contrition for what he had done.

"That is disgusting," Comerford said. Comerford also denied Farren's request to be released on bond pending the outcome of the appeal, saying that "[t]hat woman and her children are at risk."

Friends told The Washington Post that he was brilliant, but he "[h]ad a temper. He could get extremely angry, in a way that would stand out from other people."

Indeed: Farren got his 15 years by strangling his wife, throwing her across the room, and hitting her in the head with a metal flashlight two days after she served him divorce papers.

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