Post by QuickAttack on Oct 2, 2008 0:32:09 GMT -5
Just before District Judge Peter Ruddick sentenced Hall to life in prison with no chance of parole, he gave the 27-year-old Olathe man a chance to speak. Hall, who had sat through much of the 90-minute hearing with his head in hands, rose from the defense table. “I tried really hard to figure out the right words to say today,” Hall said haltingly. “I’m so, so sorry for what I’ve done. That’s it. That’s all I can say.”
With that, Ruddick sentenced Hall for aggravated kidnapping, rape, aggravated sodomy and capital murder. Life without parole was the only sentence available after District Attorney Phill Kline took the death penalty off the table as part of a plea deal.
Ruddick told the Smiths he knew that the judicial process was frustrating for them at times. But he said he wanted to commend everyone involved for agreeing to a sentence that he called “fair and final.”
The emotional 90-minute hearing opened with defense attorney Paul Cramm revealing that Hall had been sexually abused repeatedly by family members when he was under the age of 6.
Cramm showed a picture of Hall as a young boy and a drawing that Hall had made after he was removed from his family’s home and placed in state custody.
The drawing showed two stick figures. The small figure, which represented Hall, was on his hands and knees. The bigger stick figure was an uncle, Cramm said.
“In no way do I use this as an excuse for what happened,” Cramm said. “It is not an excuse, judge, but it’s an explanation.”
Cramm said that he and co-counsel Carl Cornwell represented Hall for about 10 months before Hall admitted in the spring that he had killed Smith. Cramm said he would never forget the fear in Hall’s voice when he confessed. And Cramm said he would never forget the anger he felt toward Hall. ' “Damn it, Jack,” Cramm recalled, using Hall’s nickname. “Why did you wait so long to tell us?” Hall told him he had waited because he was afraid that Cramm would no longer care about what happened to him if he knew what he had done.
www.kansascity.com/116/story/799619.html
With that, Ruddick sentenced Hall for aggravated kidnapping, rape, aggravated sodomy and capital murder. Life without parole was the only sentence available after District Attorney Phill Kline took the death penalty off the table as part of a plea deal.
Ruddick told the Smiths he knew that the judicial process was frustrating for them at times. But he said he wanted to commend everyone involved for agreeing to a sentence that he called “fair and final.”
The emotional 90-minute hearing opened with defense attorney Paul Cramm revealing that Hall had been sexually abused repeatedly by family members when he was under the age of 6.
Cramm showed a picture of Hall as a young boy and a drawing that Hall had made after he was removed from his family’s home and placed in state custody.
The drawing showed two stick figures. The small figure, which represented Hall, was on his hands and knees. The bigger stick figure was an uncle, Cramm said.
“In no way do I use this as an excuse for what happened,” Cramm said. “It is not an excuse, judge, but it’s an explanation.”
Cramm said that he and co-counsel Carl Cornwell represented Hall for about 10 months before Hall admitted in the spring that he had killed Smith. Cramm said he would never forget the fear in Hall’s voice when he confessed. And Cramm said he would never forget the anger he felt toward Hall. ' “Damn it, Jack,” Cramm recalled, using Hall’s nickname. “Why did you wait so long to tell us?” Hall told him he had waited because he was afraid that Cramm would no longer care about what happened to him if he knew what he had done.
www.kansascity.com/116/story/799619.html