Reckoning American Justice

This programme contains some strong language and scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.

MUSIC: Run On by Cantus

'I believe in good and evil. I believe it exists in this world.'

I'm not going to lay down and not let my vote mean something!

My ancestors DIED for me to have the right to vote!

And we're going to have law and order.

CHEERING

We have to enforce the laws of the State of Florida,

and our laws say we have to be tough.

I don't care what caused you to do it!

You can't run around stabbing people!

Some people do belong behind bars and I will not apologise

for putting them there.

This election is about turnout. If we get our people out to vote,

we win. It's that simple.

The city of Jacksonville is about to elect its next state attorney.

Angela's been kicking butt every single day that she's been

-in office.

-Amen.

-It's our turn to return the favour,

and we have to turn out our people because the second we do,

we frickin' win.

APPLAUSE

I like it when that smile spreads.

I love that, when people go, "Oh! I know her."

Angela Corey has done the job for the last eight years

and is seeking a third term in office.

Her main rival is a former employee, Melissa Nelson.

If elected, what's the first thing you would change?

What I've been saying all along, I'm going to work

to restore confidence in that office.

One of their key battlegrounds is how the justice system

deals with children.

I can only speak from my own experience as to knowing

how this state attorney's office treats juveniles.

In particular, Angela Corey's willingness

to prosecute children as adults.

Oh, it's a violation of the international code of justice.

It's inhumane, it's this.

The kind of people we're sending to adult court are people who shoot

at kids, people who bash kids' heads into bookcases.

I got elected to be tough on crime and to follow the law.

I don't create this stuff, I just do my job.

Florida's law allows the most serious juvenile offenders

to be dealt with by adult courts and given adult punishment.

He will serve 15 years in the Florida State Prison.

Angela Corey has received widespread criticism for her use of this law.

CRYING

And now one case is causing controversy -

the prosecution of Jacksonville's second-youngest killer,

Sharron Townsend.

State Attorney's Office announced last week Sharron Townsend

would be charged as an adult with second-degree murder.

The State Attorney's Office says he killed 54-year-old Thomas Trent

when he was just 12 years old.

Angela Corey has always done her best to try to make this system

a better system, with more punishment.

She has always been very tough on this juvenile crime,

to her credit.

Eileen Simpson was the detective who lead the investigation

against Sharron.

Every now and again, you see someone that just has no care

for a human life.

It doesn't mean anything to them.

This is one of those individuals.

Two and a half years ago, Eileen was called to the scene of a shooting.

She found a homeless man, Thomas Trent, dead,

with a bullet wound to the head.

We were standing out here with absolutely no idea

what happened or who did this to this man

when a business owner came out and said, "Hey, I want to share

"something with you. We found something on our video

"we think you should see."

The footage showed Sharron and another boy, Darrell Royal,

ten minutes before the shooting.

We realise that they're going to make that path

between the broken building,

and realise that's exactly where Mr Trent was found deceased.

Mr Trent is basically laying here on this sidewalk.

There's a little bit of a ledge, and Mr Trent is laying here

on this sidewalk when they walk up, see him laying there and kick him.

Mr Trent tries to get up, gets standing up,

they start calling him names

and eventually Sharron points a gun out at him and shoots him,

and it hits him in the back of the head.

He stumbles, stumbles and falls down.

This man was defenceless. He was asleep, minding his own business,

not bothering a soul. And that bothers me, when people get

victimised because they're laying on the sidewalk

with no place to live.

We don't live in a country that we allow that type of

animalistic behaviour.

We have places for people like that, it's called prison.

Both boys were identified and questioned.

Darrell claimed that it was Sharron who pulled the trigger.

Sharron was then interviewed by Eileen.

Do you feel bad for what happened?

I mean, it's a difference in somebody.

Are you the type of person that just doesn't care about anybody

and you're just that evil, at 12?

I don't know any 12-year-old, almost 13, I don't know any kid your age

that could be evil like that.

Are you evil?

No.

At the time of his arrest, Sharron had fallen out with his family

and was living rough in an abandoned apartment.

There's your mom.

Oh, boy, you know what you got yourself into?

I don't know if they're going to charge you with murder,

first-degree, second, manslaughter. I don't know.

They're trying to put you away for life.

Your whole life.

Only 12 years old, though, like!

You're not even understanding.

You just threw your whole fucking life away for nothing!

Boy, you as crazy as hell!

You just don't know.

Darrell Royal was released, but Sharron was charged with

second-degree murder and has been in adult jail awaiting trial

ever since.

In two days, he attends court to decide his plea -

guilty or not guilty.

-Eileen, how are you?

-Mr Mizrahi, how are you?

-Very good.

Eileen is meeting prosecutor Alan Mizrahi

to review the case against him.

We have the Facebook picture, holding what appears to be

money and gun, and we have a close-up on the money and the gun.

We can also see Townsend holding, fanning out money.

And then we have all the pictures of all the guns.

Gun, gun, semi-automatic pistol there.

There's no forensic evidence and the surveillance footage

doesn't show who shot Thomas Trent,

so the prosecution's case is mostly circumstantial.

And then we have the statements where Townsend is confessing

-to being a shooter.

-Correct.

And then he's like, "You shot him or you scared him?" was the question.

-"I shot his ass in his head."

-Yeah, in his head.

"Man, I'm mad as fuck, like. I just went around the corner

"and shot this man and walked away like I didn't give a fuck no more,

-"for real."

-Yep. That's what he says.

I think that pretty much gives us a flavour of who we're dealing with.

I think none of us wants to live in a society where

your actions as a 12-year-old define the rest of your life.

But remember the primary purpose of criminal punishment

is the protection of the community. That's number one, above all else.

And so, sadness takes a very significant back seat

to the protection of the community at large.

Hey, hey!

Here are just a few pictures.

This is one of his school pictures.

Oh, this...another picture when he was...

-How old?

-I don't know, four, five or six? Look at him.

No, he was younger.

He was a mama's boy.

Sharron's mother, Nekia, is preparing for the hearing

with a support worker.

-This seems like a child...

-He is a child!

-..that, maybe, for where you moved at...

-He's sweet.

He'd help anybody.

They think they're getting ready to take him away, his whole life.

Oh, no. I don't think it's fair.

He's ready to come home.

He looked like he learnt his lesson now.

I know he got his mind together.

Yes. He's been reading up on his books, his Bible.

He's got all kinds of books.

Yes, he got older.

He got face hair, I can't believe it.

Yes.

They got him around all these grown-ass adults

in this big jailhouse.

Juveniles supposed to get sent with the juveniles.

It don't make sense to me.

Now 14 years old, Sharron faces a choice - stick to a plea

of not guilty and take his chance at trial,

or change it to guilty and negotiate a limit to his sentence.

At some point while a criminal case is pending,

you're at a crossroads, OK?

And you have to evaluate what lies down path A,

which would be a trial, and what lies down path B,

which would be,

you know, some form of negotiated plea.

You have to talk about...

not whether or not that client is guilty,

but whether or not the state could convince

a jury in Jacksonville, Florida that they're guilty.

All rise.

But ultimately, it's his choice.

Even though he is a young child,

ultimately it's his decision as to what he wants to do.

Sharron Townsend.

You are Sharron Townsend?

-Yes, sir.

-How old are you, Mr Townsend?

-14.

-Who have you spoken to to reach this decision?

-My lawyer.

Your Honour, at this time we have reached

a proposed negotiated disposition.

Mr Townsend has authorised me to withdraw

his previously-entered plea of not guilty.

He has authorised me to enter a plea of guilty as charged

with the understanding that in exchange for his plea, the state

is willing to enter a waiver of the 25 year minimum mandatory penalty.

You're entering a plea of guilty to the charge of murder

and with a firearm?

Are you guilty of that charge?

-Yes, sir.

-I didn't hear you.

-Yes, sir.

You understand that when you plead guilty,

you give up certain constitutional rights?

Yes, sir.

You give up the right to have a trial, trial by jury,

-you understand what that is?

-Yes, sir.

At a trial, they have to come here and prove your guilt to the jury.

-You don't have to prove anything, you understand?

-Yes, sir.

Did you speak to your mother?

Yes, sir.

Have you discussed this with her and your intention to enter this

-plea of guilty?

-Yes, sir.

-Did she approve of it?

-No.

But you're making this decision despite that, is that correct?

Yes, sir.

All right.

-To be set for sentencing.

-Thank you, Judge.

By pleading guilty,

Sharron now faces between 10 and 40 years in prison.

Had he chosen to fight the case at trial and lost,

he would've faced at least 25.

The State Attorney's Office in Jacksonville is

incredibly aggressive in the prosecution of juveniles.

I think Angela Corey herself has said that, you know,

"I don't care that they're kids. If they do horrible things,

"I'm going to treat them like they're grown-ups."

The juvenile justice system is not designed to deal

with 12-year-old or 13-year-old murderers.

We have had to put kids that age in adult court because there is

no juvenile programme that would either fix them, or protect

the community from them if they are that dangerous.

I do disagree with the suggestion that the Department of

Juvenile Justice is ill-equipped or inept of dealing with juveniles.

I know otherwise. Ms Corey knows otherwise.

Angela Corey and Melissa Nelson's conflict over juveniles

can be traced back to a case three years ago.

Cristian Fernandez walks into court in an orange jumpsuit,

without shackles or handcuffs, and pleads guilty.

12-year-old Cristian Fernandez was charged with killing

his two-year-old brother by repeatedly smashing his head

against a bookshelf.

Angela chose to prosecute Christian as an adult and Melissa

was part of a team that volunteered to defend him.

The idea that a 12-year-old child

with a very, very, um, sad background

would be charged as an adult and face...and be facing

a mandatory life sentence was hard to wrap your head around.

Melissa successfully fought Angela's pursuit

of a mandatory life sentence,

instead reducing it to five years in a juvenile facility.

In the Cristian Fernandez case,

the 12-year-old was put into solitary confinement,

a four by eight cell,

alone and kept there for 28 days. That is what caused the outrage.

Cristian Fernandez, Miss Nelson and several others

made great hay about it, a lot of publicity, a lot of bashing.

They have not said one word since we've had another 12-year-old,

two 13-year-olds and a 14-year-old who cut off his mother's head.

Following his guilty plea, Sharron will be sentenced

for the murder of Thomas Trent in two months' time.

Starting to think about them all. Trying not to think about it, but...

It just is what it is.

Since I've been back here, I've seen people caught 40, 10, 30, 20...

25.

Did it to a lot of people.

Mm, nothing I can do.

While in jail he shared a cell with another 14-year-old,

who's about to be sentenced.

His name is Jeremiah Hill.

Grab a seat. That's it.

He committed a murder when he was 13.

At 3am on June 10th, 2015,

Jeremiah met his victim, Tony Johnson,

to trade weapons.

During the deal, Jeremiah shot Tony and killed him.

OK.

Mm-hm.

Mm-hm.

After confessing to police,

Jeremiah was charged with first-degree murder.

We help. We help, all y'all.

SHE SIGHS

Jeremiah is going to court to find out how many years

he'll spend in prison.

Because he's being treated as an adult,

the maximum sentence he faces is life.

Jeremiah was charged as an adult

at the discretion of the State Attorney's Office.

There's a whole lot of power

in what the State Attorney's Office can do.

He is facing his murder charge just as if he were a 50-year-old man.

In a sentencing, the defence and prosecution present their arguments

to a judge, who ultimately decides what punishment fits the crime.

I've grown up with the belief that good and evil exists in this world.

We have, uh, a young man committing a brutal crime.

And so he still needs to be held accountable for his actions.

We can't always say, well, he's young and he didn't know any better.

The defence call Jeremiah to the stand.

-Jeremiah, you know exactly why you're here, right?

-Yes, ma'am.

I'm going to use the word "remorse". Do you know what that word means?

-I feel sorry.

-OK.

And you feel sorry for your participation in what happened?

Yes, ma'am.

Is there anything that you want the victim's families to know?

Thank you, Jeremiah.

The prosecution can now challenge Jeremiah's claim that he's sorry.

Let me read to you exhibit one. The victim's family members

make a posting where it says,

"My brother will be missed, a true friend."

And you put on there, what? Happy faces and guns as a reply.

Do you remember that?

-I don't remember that.

-What else does it say?

I don't want to read that part.

You don't want to read that part on the record?

Doesn't it say, "You're talking crazy,

"you're going to be next, like that..."

Pardon my language, "That fucking nigger, Tony."

The victim. Correct?

You genuinely are apologising to family members.

-You realise what they've gone through, right?

-Yes, sir.

And that they've suffered.

-Correct?

-Yes, sir.

And their loved one will never come back. You agree with...?

I guess what I'm trying to ask you is,

do you understand the consequences of what you did?

-I understand, I understand the consequences.

-OK.

Thank you, sir. I have no further questions.

It is a terrible thing that we have, as a society, have progressed

to the point where a 13-year-old resorts to such violent actions.

How do we protect the public from individuals like that?

How many chances should that young man get

before he's held accountable?

-JUDGE:

-And whether you have empathy or not,

whether or not, as you stated, you feel remorse,

I've never thought of you as an evil person,

but I think you are a person who's done an evil act.

Based upon your plea of guilty to murder in the first degree,

the court adjudges you to be guilty and sentences you

to serve 40 years in a Florida state prison.

The number of cases involving young children, a 13-year-old,

a 14-year-old, their willingness to commit these serious crimes,

throwing their lives away, it's the biggest problem I've seen

as a judge in the criminal division and in the juvenile division.

The same judge, Jack Schemer,

will also preside over Sharron's sentencing.

BIRD CHIRPS

The family of Sharron's victim, Thomas Trent,

lives less than a mile away from where the murder took place.

My niece had been down at the end of the street and heard the shot.

She was only like a block away from where he got shot.

So we didn't know that was him.

The next day, the detectives... My brother Pete comes rushing in

and he's like, "Dawn, Dawn, get up, Tom's been shot!" I'm like, what?

You know... I wasn't thinking dead shot.

You know, OK, he's gotten in trouble. But no.

They said he was shot... right between the eyes.

Point blank.

By a 12-year-old child.

Thomas Trent had struggled with alcoholism since the death

of his mother, and despite attempts by his family to help,

was living rough at the time of the attack.

My whole...world broke.

Because he...

He was my baby brother.

I loved him, I raised him.

He might not have had the best life,

he might not have lived

in the style everybody thinks that we should live in,

but he was a person, he was a human being, he had a right to life.

They had no right to take it.

My brothers, when it happened,

were ready to go on the hunt for him.

And if they'd have found him, honestly, before the police had,

it would not have gone over good for the child.

If the maximum punishment he can get is 40 years...

-Then he should get every day.

-Then he should get every stinking day.

Ten years...

-For that...

-That would be the giant smack in the face.

-He'd be out before he was... before he turned 30.

-Yep.

I didn't think it was going to be some little...

-Kid.

-..hoodlum.

I won't call him a kid, cos...

-Somebody do that, you're not a kid any more.

-Well, you're right there.

He decided he wanted to be a man and make a man's choice,

so he should get man justice.

This is the spot where it happened.

Yeah.

Can't believe it. He's a rotten-ass person, I know that.

I go along with what the detective said.

One evil person.

That he should kill somebody.

Just hold together, OK?

It is hard.

But anyway...

-Hi, guys.

-Hi there, how are you?

-NEWSREADER:

-Primary day in Election 2016 continues...

All eyes are on the race for state attorney...

Jacksonville's voters go to the polls today

to elect their next state attorney.

The campaign has been great.

We've built positive momentum every single day, every single

weekend and it's culminating with, I hope, a great turnout today.

No state attorney here in Jacksonville in modern history

has ever lost a re-election bid.

Thank you! Thank you.

Who did you vote for for state attorney?

I voted for Angela Corey, I think she's done a great job.

The candidates' views on how to treat child criminals

has split opinion throughout the campaign.

Now the people can choose what brand of justice they want

for the next four years.

I'm supporting Angela Corey.

She has been our best prosecutor

we have had in Duval County in many, many years.

What has she done as a prosecutor that makes you want to come out...?

She puts criminals in jail. She puts people on death row.

She looks out for the victims. The criminals despise her.

What has been one of the busier precincts here in town will be

even busier over the next hour and a half or so until polls close.

Clark, everyone here at the Melissa Nelson camp is optimistic.

We spoke with her campaign staff earlier.

Nelson is tucked away, she hasn't been seen so far,

but she will come down and address this crowd.

The polls closed 20 minutes ago.

And results are starting to come in.

And half the polls have reported, so it'll stay that way?

-64, around that.

-Third of them.

-Third of them.

-Matt, you saw early numbers?

-Yeah.

It's a big number!

Bro!

-That's Duval.

-Yeah.

-Now this race is...

-It's over.

All of you, thank you so much.

I, I... This is overwhelming.

I believed that we deserve more in our justice system

and that's why I ran.

And tonight this victory gives voice to what our community expects

from our justice system.

Democrat, Republican, Independent, black, white, rich or poor,

I am committed to serving all of you in this community equally.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I want us all to remember that there are children living in homes

where the sound of gunfire is, unfortunately, not a foreign sound.

And there are segments of our community who do not trust

that our system is fair.

I will work hard to restore trust in the criminal justice system.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

How do you feel after this loss?

Well, you know, we're looking at the numbers

and we were very disappointed by those.

We have tough justice and we've not been apologetic,

nor will I be at this point for being tough on violent

and repeat offenders.

And I did what I promised to do eight years ago.

So you have no regrets at all?

Well, no.

-Thank you, Angela.

-Thank you.

-Thank you. Thank you.

The election loss means Angela Corey will leave office

in four months' time.

Her last high-profile case is Sharron Townsend.

-RADIO:

-115mph, that makes it a Category 3 hurricane,

major hurricane, with gusts over 140mph. That's a major hurricane

moving just off our coast and then heading on just along...

Detective Eileen Simpson is meeting the Trent family

ahead of Sharron's sentencing.

Two years ago, it was Eileen who broke the news of Thomas's death.

-Did I hear the doorbell ring?

-EILEEN LAUGHS

I knew you'd come let me in!

-Hey, Pete.

-How you doing?

-How are you?

-No, you don't get to have her!

-DOG BARKS

Oh, my Juju bee! Where's my Juju?

-Come on.

-Juju! Hey!

-There she is.

Hey, Juju!

Hi! Hi, Juju!

If y'all remember us sitting right here in this living room,

I knew I was up against a tough case, but I promised you guys

I would make this happen for you and I told you there was good and bad

in the case, but I told you I'd get you to this day.

-Yes, ma'am.

-This sentencing hearing, they'll say what a great kid he is

and all the things that he's done to change, and all the reasons why,

you know, he should get the lightest sentence. And then it's our turn.

-And...

-That, to me, does not matter. He killed somebody.

Simple as that. I don't care how many goodies you're doing

in prison or in jail, how much you've changed.

-You murdered somebody. Simple as that.

-I agree with you.

-I mean...

-I agree with you.

We're gambling on how much time

this judge is going to give this young boy,

that everybody's going to want to portray as the poor kid, OK?

-Right.

-So let's just say that if you all don't get up

and tell that judge how you feel, then he doesn't have a way to know

how you feel.

I don't understand why he shouldn't get life,

because he took a life. Why should he be, 40 years from now,

have a chance to come out, have a life, maybe have children,

maybe have this, that and the other?

My brother isn't.

I don't disagree with you, but we're in the minority.

I don't think that everybody feels that way.

Listen, trust me, I've been on the stand now

for probably 15 years, testifying and stuff,

and there is times that I feel hot all over,

because I can't contain what I really want to say.

And when they make me raise my hand and say, "Tell the truth,

"the whole truth and nothing but the truth," they don't mean

the whole truth, because there are so many things I'm not allowed

to say because it could be prejudicial to the defendant.

There's a system in place and I have to play within it.

I don't have to like it.

Just remember, you can't just come off and say,

"Well, that blankety-blank just pisses..."

-Welcome to America.

-No.

-You don't speak what you got to say.

Well, you do, but you have to polish it.

Animals act like animals.

We are not animals.

We're not animals. We want to make that judge realise

we are all civilised human beings and the last thing we want to do

is act like them.

-That's for sure.

-Does that make sense?

-Yes, it does.

Cos if you act like them, you're no different than them.

I will do my best.

-I'm sure you will nail it.

-I will do my best.

I am sure you will nail it.

Well, everybody, guess I'll see you on Friday.

God willing and the creeks don't rise, as we say in the South.

-The creeks don't rise.

-Yeah.

I'll see you guys Friday. Just remember, say what you want.

All right, guys. Thanks.

-You stay!

-Come on, Juju! Come on, Juju!

-She will!

Come on, Juju, let's go! Want to go in the car?

-No, she's not going in the...

-She is...

-Bye-bye! Come on, I heard you.

-EILEEN LAUGHS

They're very good people.

They live the right way, they work,

they pay their bills,

they don't get into trouble,

they don't do things that they shouldn't.

Just nice people.

-REPORTER:

-The wind and the rain continue to just batter this area.

Winds topping at a deadly 145mph.

The storm skirts the eastern edge of the Central Florida coast.

It pummels everything in its path.

For the next few hours, it's only going to get worse than this

in the city itself

and that is why they issued

that evacuation order for this area.

On the day of Sharron's hearing, Hurricane Matthew hits Jacksonville.

The sentencing is postponed.

By the time it's rescheduled, Angela Corey has gone

and Melissa Nelson is state attorney.

KNOCK ON DOOR

She will now oversee Sharron Townsend's sentencing,

which is taking place tomorrow.

So, we want to spend a few minutes just going over

Sharron Townsend's case, which is set for sentencing tomorrow.

Obviously it was a senseless, almost execution-like killing.

The facts are the 12-year-old took a .22 calibre revolver

and shot a homeless man in the head.

Has he shown any remorse?

Eileen met with him, he showed no remorse.

He tried to minimise, he tried to point the blame.

Yeah, he has not shown any significant remorse.

You need to know, the family is going to recommend the maximum,

which I think is understandable based on what they have lost.

The maximum we have is 40 years.

The other good thing to recognise is that would ensure

that Townsend would be incarcerated during, what all experts agree,

is the most dangerous part of a criminal's lifespan,

which is, you know, their teenage years

-to their early thirties or so.

-OK.

This is a very, very sad case, but our role is recommending

what we think is a just sentence, both on behalf of survivors

of the victim and also with respect to mitigation.

We have a kid who was living on the streets and was 12 years old.

It's senseless.

Mitigation, with regard to this child...

It's compelling, but what is also compelling

is the risk that this child poses if he is released into the public.

Sharron Townsend's defence team have one last chance to meet with him

before tomorrow's sentencing.

He needs to see the barber, he wants a haircut and he wants a shave.

-Hey.

-What's up, Sharron, how you doing?

Blake was just talking to the watch commander about getting you

-to see the barber.

-We don't want you to look any older

-than you are, you know.

-I'm going to let it grow back.

No, you can grow it back, you can grow it back, but I think

it's a good idea for you to be clean-shaven.

This is what we have put together for the judge.

We have some experts that are going to talk about

your mom and your grandma and how they raised you

and the things that they did or didn't do.

One of the, kind of, themes of this sentencing hearing is,

you know, their failings, right?

I mean, they did the best that they could with what they had to give,

but to be quite honest, Sharron, there is a lot that they didn't do

that they should have done, OK?

And we're going to tell the judge that,

it's important that we tell the judge that.

It's not because we're trying to attack them or make them look bad,

but it's because that's what we have to do to do our job for you.

-You understand that?

-Yes, ma'am.

-OK.

Now, the other side of it is the state attorney gets

to put on whatever they want.

And you can expect them to jump up and down and try to make you

look as bad as they possibly can.

And if you find yourself getting upset about something

that is said, I want you to write it down, OK?

So write your feelings down on the paper and do not let anybody see it

on your face, OK?

You know, the whole point of this thing is to show the judge

that you're more than that one day. You know, the state attorney's going

to focus on that one day, that one moment, and try to make

that all about Sharron Townsend,

and what we're doing with all of these witnesses and all of

these doctors is to show the full Sharron Townsend

and to show that you're more than that day.

And by way of explanation, you know, maybe how you got to that day.

It's going to be one of the hardest days

that you've ever been through, OK?

So you just need to be telling yourself that

and know that we're there for you.

They ain't telling me nothing at all, or my mom.

They're not even listening to us, like we don't have no say-so.

That is my son.

I'm just trying to stay calm and pray for the best.

But I think everything's going to be all right, though.

I just know it is.

It'll be all right.

-REPORTER:

-Sharron Townsend is to be sentenced today

after pleading guilty last June to second-degree murder

for killing a homeless man when he was just 12 years old.

I ain't that much of a religious person, but...

..all we can do is pray.

Hope for the best, praying for the worst.

The beautiful thing about a sentencing hearing is we don't

have to at all worry about whether or not

he's going to be found guilty.

He has pled guilty to the second-degree murder of Thomas.

Perfect, we've already won.

We have won the trial and now we're here deciding what

the appropriate sentence is going to be.

Just make sure that if you hear things that you don't like, OK,

from the defence...

-Bite your tongue.

-..bite your tongue.

Listen, my boss, Melissa Nelson, she wants to meet y'all.

You're in great hands with Alan, so...

I'm just... It's tragic and senseless. I'm sorry for your loss.

..in the State of Florida is now in session.

Judge Jack Schemer is now presiding.

Can you solemnly swear that the testimony you're about to give...?

The hearing begins with the defence calling a social worker

who's been assessing Sharron's upbringing.

Well, the first time that Sharron came to the attention

of the Department Of Children And Families, he had been

burned in the eye with a Black & Mild cigarette.

Other DCF involvements surrounded Nekia and her mother's homelessness

and also drug use within the family.

By the time Sharron was 11 years old, the mother provided him

with drugs, marijuana and cocaine.

The mother also uses drugs, she has parties in the home

and she supports her family by committing crimes such as robbery.

At some point, Nekia decided to move to Jacksonville

and she did so without having any plans.

So they came to town, they had no place to live,

she had Sharron, was a small child, and then a baby,

living out on the streets of Jacksonville.

How old was he during that period of time?

I believe he was a toddler.

I don't want to leave out the fact that the mother, Lailah,

was extremely abusive.

Was there any evidence that Lailah Pollard, the grandmother,

was physically abusive to Sharron?

Yes.

For example, a month before this crime occurred,

she took it upon herself to beat him in the head with a metal pipe

because he was "smelling his self."

And is that one of the events that precipitated Mr Townsend

leaving home and living on the street,

which is where he was just prior to this incident?

That was the precipitating event.

Next, the defence call a child psychologist

who has been working with Sharron in jail.

So, from your review of Mr Townsend's records,

was this period of incarceration the first, sort of,

prolonged period of stability that he's experienced?

Yeah, yes.

For the first time in his life that he had regularity

and he had a couple of people who really...

..seemed to...

..care for him. He got better, more mature,

and much more pleasant to be around.

Always, children are going through developmental stages.

At 12 years old, his personality's not developed.

And that's just well-known child psychology.

The hope would be that we believe in change and we believe in

rehabilitation and we believe that his personality will form to...

..be a better person.

I don't have any further questions at this time, thank you.

The contact log report, do you have in front of you?

Yeah.

The January 19th of 2015 entry.

Townsend stated to an officer that he was going to kill the officer.

Yes.

-He's threatening officers with their lives.

-Correct.

And then I want to turn your attention to

the first disciplinary report I could see, about having a shank.

-Shank.

-OK, and obviously that's a potentially deadly weapon, correct?

Yes.

And then that wasn't the only time he had it. Then we have

January 5th of 2015, he also had a spoon with a razor attached to it.

-Yes. Right, a spoon.

-OK.

And, you know, without going through them all cos I think

-there's too much time...

-Right.

-..there's approximately 25 to 30

-individual disciplinary reports, correct?

-Correct.

-OK.

Thank you, Your Honour.

Your Honour, the State has several victim impact statements.

We'll begin first with Dawn.

Please state your name for the record.

-Dawn McNabb.

-And what is your relationship to Thomas Trent?

-HER VOICE WAVERS:

-His older sister.

Take your time and keep your voice up.

Respectfully, Your Honour, I ask that the maximum sentence

liable by law for the senseless death of my brother

be given to the defendant.

This is my baby brother.

And it's a hard thing to lose someone so close,

someone that you diapered, someone that you taught to ride bicycles.

He loved life so much.

He loved his family, he was very close to his mother and father.

So when they did die...

it took his heart away.

We didn't come from the best of life ourselves.

We had a lot of problems.

But he's been taken from us senselessly,

in a crime of pure unadulterated...

I won't say that.

If he had...

I can't, I can't say that.

He was, he was...

OK.

He...

SHE SIGHS

Sorry.

Thank you.

I am still trying to understand what my brother could have ever done

to him that would push him to the decision he made that night.

No-one is a winner. We lost a good brother.

I know for the defendant's mother this is hard.

But she will be able to visit him, see and talk to him,

and for us we will never have that right any more.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Your Honour.

That's all the evidence the State has to present.

I need to take more time to review what has been presented

from both sides.

And what I intend to do is contact the parties as to when

I will announce sentencing.

So we will be adjourned on this case until that time.

All rise.

'Of course it's a difficult decision and heavy decision

'and a big responsibility.'

You're dealing with people's lives and...

..I think most people, if they ever lost a loved one to a crime...

..would want the person responsible for that crime

to be punished extensively or to the maximum.

Most people would feel that way.

I would feel that way.

I probably would have thought that if the sentencing structure

got more severe and the sentencings became longer,

we would see a reduction in crime.

But it hasn't worked out that way.

I've given the maximum sentences many times.

I've given lenient sentences many times.

I admit, sometimes you enter sentences and...

..you hope that you've done the right thing.

All rise.

Court will now come into order.

You may be seated.

Mr Townsend, if you'd come forward with your attorneys, please.

It is important that you not confuse mitigation with justification,

or mitigation with forgiveness,

because there is no justification for your conduct.

The mitigation explains why, in your young mind,

you were impressed by guns and violence.

It explains why you were on the streets, living in an abandoned home

and associated with others of a like mind.

It explains why you had a lack of respect for authority,

or may have a lack of empathy for the pain of others.

But what it doesn't explain...

..was your conscious decision to point a gun and pull the trigger

and take the life of Thomas Trent.

That was a decision you made on your own.

Accordingly, it is the judgment and sentence of this court

that you be sentenced as an adult to 30 years

in the Florida State Prison.

That will conclude the case.