Judge James P. McGuire of Suffolk Country Superior Court yesterday sentenced Leon J. Easterling to 18-20 years in the Massachusetts State Penitentiary at Walpole for the 1976 fatal stabbing of Andrew P. Puopolo '77.

Easterling was convicted of manslaughter two weeks ago.

More to Come

Norman S. Zalkind, Easterling's attorney, said prior to the sentencing yesterday, "We have the automatic right to have the case reviewed, and we will." He added that he would protest McGuire's final instructions to the jury in the appeal.

McGuire offered no explanation for the sentence, which is the maximum punishment for manslaughter under Massachusetts state law.

Sinners in the Hands...

Saying Easterling "made his money as a pimp," Thomas J. Mundy Jr., Suffolk Country assistant district attorney, requested the maximum punishment during his final argument yesterday. The prosecutor said, "He (Easterling) is anything but remorseful" about the crime he committed.

Zalkind said after the sentencing jail terms "for those involved in street brawls are usually low. I still think McGuire is a fair judge, but this sentence was too high."

Wheels of Justice

The court acquitted Easterling's two codefendants, Edward J. Soares and Richard S. Allen on November 21. All three were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1977, but the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court granted them a retrial last March.

The court ruled that the prosecution in the initial trial had systematically eliminated blacks from the jury. Easterling, Soares and Allen are black.

Puopolo died on December 17, 1976, a month after Easterling stabbed him during a fight between several Harvard football players and the defendants in Boston's Combat Zone.