"Deryl Dedmon pleaded guilty to murder and a hate-crime charge before a judge in Jackson on Wednesday afternoon, admitting to the June killing of James Craig Anderson. Hinds County Circuit Judge Jeff Weill sentenced him to two concurrent life terms, saying, "This craven act isn't who we are."
"Whatever excuse you offer, forget that. There is no excuse," Weill said. He added, "The state of Mississippi condemns this despicable crime." Dedmon, 19, told the judge that he was a "changed man" who had found religion since his arrest.
"I wish I could take it all back," he said, adding, "I was young and dumb, ignorant and full of hatred. I chose to go down the wrong path."
Dedmon is also expected to plead guilty to still-undisclosed federal charges Thursday, three sources with knowledge of the case told CNN -- the first indication that a federal case was pending in Anderson's death. Officials would disclose no details, but Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith said he expected other charges -- and other arrests.
"This is just the beginning," Smith said. Anderson's killing prompted several large marches and prayer vigils in Jackson, a city of about 537,000 people. His sister, Barbara Anderson Young, said during Wednesday's hearing that her family was praying for "racial conciliation." "These last months have been very difficult," Young said. "We cried. We wept. We reminisced about our beloved brother, Craig, a loss I cannot even explain. Craig was a big-hearted person who loved his fellow man.""
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/21/justice/mississippi-hate-crime/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire