UPDATED 1:10 p.m.
(Reuters) -A federal judge on Friday sentenced a white supremacist to 90 consecutive life terms in prison for a 2019 shooting in which he killed 23 people and wounded 22 others at a Texas Walmart while targeting Hispanics, local media reported.
The sentencing by U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama in El Paso adheres to a plea agreement from February in which shooter Patrick Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty to and agreed to 90 consecutive life sentences in order to avoid the federal death penalty.
The shooter still faces Texas state charges that could result in the death penalty.
Crusius did not speak in court. His attorney Joe Spencer made a statement for him in which he said the shooter suffered from mental illness which drove him to carry out the shooting, according to the Texas Tribune newspaper. Prosecutors rebutted that and said Crusius knew what he was doing when he carried out the massacre.
His federal sentencing followed two days of emotional testimony from witnesses, some of the 22 wounded survivors as well as relatives of the 23 dead who delivered impact statements in the presence of the shooter
“I want you dead,” said Genesis Davila, who was 12 years old and present while her soccer coach was killed and her father was wounded.
She looked directly at the shooter on Wednesday and told him, “I hate you so much. Hell has a special place for you,” KVIA television reported.
Thomas Hoffman, who lost his father, Alexander Hoffman, called the shooter an “evil parasite” on Wednesday and said, “You are nothing without your weapon,” the Dallas Morning News reported.
Prosecutors said the shooter drove more than 600 miles (1,000 km) overnight from suburban Dallas to the border city of El Paso, carrying out the massacre on Aug. 3, 2019, with a Romanian derivative of the AK-47 and hollow-point ammunition.
Just before the assault, the shooter posted on the internet a manifesto that declared, “This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas. They are the instigators, not me. I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by the invasion.”
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta and Brad Brooks; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Mark Porter)
——————————————————–
(Reuters) – The white nationalist who targeted Hispanics when he killed nearly two dozen people at a Walmart store in a Texas border city in 2019 is likely to be sentenced on Friday, having already agreed to accept 90 consecutive life terms when he pleaded guilty.
The sentencing by U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama in El Paso follows two days of emotional testimony from witnesses, some of the 22 wounded survivors, and relatives of the 23 dead who delivered impact statements in the presence of the shooter, Patrick Crusius, 24.
Crusius pleaded guilty in February to 90 counts including 23 counts of hate crime resulting in death under a plea agreement that allowed him to avoid the federal death penalty. He still could be sentenced to death on pending state charges.
Even with the plea agreement, the judge conducted proceedings where witnesses poured out their emotions, expressing hatred for the shooter while revealing their own personal grief.
“I want you dead,” said Genesis Davila, who was 12 years old and present while her soccer coach was killed and her father was wounded.
She looked directly at the shooter and told him, “I hate you so much. Hell has a special place for you,” KVIA television reported.
Thomas Hoffman, who lost his father, Alexander Hoffman, called the shooter an “evil parasite” and said, “You are nothing without your weapon,” the Dallas Morning News reported.
Prosecutors said the shooter drove more than 600 miles (1,000 km) overnight from suburban Dallas to El Paso, carrying out the massacre on Aug. 3, 2019, using a Romanian derivative of the AK-47 rifle and hollow-point ammunition.
Just before the assault, the shooter posted on the internet a manifesto that declared, “This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas. They are the instigators, not me. I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by the invasion.”
The shooter’s attorney, Joe Spencer, said he could not comment until after sentencing. At the time of the guilty plea in February, Spencer told reporters, “There are no winners in this case. He’s going to be serving 90 consecutive life sentences.”
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Mark Porter)
Comments