David DePape sentenced to life in prison for hammer attack on Paul Pelosi
David DePape sentenced to life in prison for hammer attack on Paul Pelosi
David DePape sentenced to life in prison for hammer attack on Paul Pelosi
State charges included kidnapping, first-degree burglary and false imprisonment of husband of Nancy Pelosi
The man who was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for attacking the husband of Nancy Pelosi with a hammer in their California home was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole following a separate state trial.
A San Francisco jury in June found David DePape guilty of charges including aggravated kidnapping, first-degree burglary and false imprisonment of an elder.
Before issuing the sentence, Judge Harry Dorfman dismissed arguments from DePape’s attorneys that he be granted a new trial for the 2022 attack against Paul Pelosi, who was 82 years old at the time.
“It’s my intention that Mr DePape will never get out of prison, he can never be paroled,” Dorfman said while handing out the punishment.
When given the chance to address the court before his sentencing, DePape, dressed in prison orange and with his brown hair in a ponytail, spoke at length about September 11 being an inside job, his ex-wife being replaced by a body double, and his government-provided attorneys conspiring against him.
“I’m a psychic,” DePape told the court, reading from sheets of paper. “The more I meditate, the more psychic I get.”
And the attorney wants them to reconsider the sentence? Sounds like he needs some serious therapy, and institutionalized, not let out.
Oh fuck all the way off, asshole. His brain was rotted from right-wing media- there was no secret hidden sub-programming which could be turned on with a code word.
Also, fuck you again. Everyone is a peaceful, law-abiding person until they decide to break the law.
Until they're caught breaking the law, anyway.
People with certain mental illnesses are far more susceptible to conspiracy theories and other such nonsense. It doesn’t excuse what he did but it’s important to recognize this. Our society is a much more dangerous place for these kinds of vulnerable individuals than it was before mass media, simply because of the huge amount of exposure they have to harmful materials.
Did they not try an insanity defense? He must have been declared competent, I guess.
My understanding is that insanity defense has a very high bar, beyond what the public would commonly consider "crazy", so it's not actually something that happens often. And even then, actually getting out of whatever institution you're remanded to isn't guaranteed.
I wonder if his psychic powers told him he'd be getting a life sentence
I honestly think there's a movement that believes if they deny reality at trial that the courts will just let them go because "oops! We can't punish a crazy person!" and then they'll never ever check up on them again.
I'm not claiming they're smart.
Yeah if it isn’t an act he should be not guilty by reason of insanity. He’s having capgras delusions for fucks sake. I do seriously worry about the increased spread of mental illness similar to his through stuff like qanon. We’re at risk of rule by the clinically insane. But yeah if he’s too crazy to know better he’s not guilty and needs institutionalization until such a time that his delusions are gone and he’s safe to return to society (with obvious parole style follow-ups)