SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A man sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for attacking former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer in his California home was granted parole Tuesday after being sentenced in another state. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of death. Trial.
A San Francisco jury in June convicted David DePaap of charges including aggravated kidnapping, first-degree robbery and false imprisonment of an elderly person.
Judge Harry Dorfman rejected defense arguments to grant DePaap a new state trial in the 2022 attack on 82-year-old Paul Pelosi before sentencing him to life in prison for the kidnapping conviction. did.
“It is my intention that Mr. DePaap will never leave prison and will never be eligible for parole,” Dorfman said as he handed down the sentence. He later said: I feel sorry for the victim in this case, but he was lucky to be alive. ”
Adam Lipson, San Francisco’s acting public defender, asked Dorfman to consider DePaap’s mental health and isolation, which makes him susceptible to online propaganda.
DePaap, who was given a chance to address the court before sentencing, said that September 11 was an inside job, that his ex-wife had been replaced by a shadow warrior, and that government-provided lawyers had conspired against him. He talked at length about this.
“This man was always a peaceful, law-abiding individual until this was triggered,” Lipson said before he was sentenced.
When given the chance to address the court before his sentencing, DePape, dressed in prison orange and with his brown hair tied back in a ponytail, said Sept. 11 was an inside crime and that his ex-wife had been replaced by a Kagemusha. We talked about it at length. , and government-provided lawyers conspiring against him.
“I’m a psychic,” DePape said as he read aloud from the paper in court. “The more you meditate, the more inspired you become.”
The judge repeatedly interrupted DePape and asked if he wanted to comment on the jury’s verdict or his actions on the night of the attack, but DePape ignored his requests.
In a letter read in court by the victim’s daughter Christine Pelosi, Paul Pelosi asked for capital punishment, saying, “When the defendant violently entered my home, forced his way into my bedroom, and stood up, he ‘s “last restful sleep” ended abruptly.” There was a hammer and zip ties on my bed, demanding to see my wife, and asking “Where’s Nancy?” ” he shouted. ”
The attack left him with a bump on his head, a metal plate in it, dizziness and nerve damage to his left hand, he said. When she sleeps alone at home, memories of the attack come back to her.
In a statement after Tuesday’s sentencing, the Pelosi family said that after two grueling years, “legal justice has been served.”
“Today’s life sentence without parole provides some measure of legal justice for our pops, and also states that political violence against elected officials and their families will not be tolerated, minimized, or tolerated. We hope this sends a message to others that this is not the case.” “We must all do our part to build a peaceful democracy.”
Previously, a federal jury convicted DePape of assaulting a family member of a federal employee and attempting to kidnap a federal employee. In May, he was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.
DePaap expressed remorse for his actions during his federal sentencing, but did not do so on Tuesday. The judges in both cases said they could not ignore the seriousness of targeting elected officials.
Judge Dorfman on Tuesday sentenced DePaap to additional prison terms on other charges, but all sentences, including the federal sentence, will run concurrently. He said if the appeals court vacates his life sentence without parole, he would ask to send the case back to court for resentencing.
Lipson told reporters after the hearing that he plans to appeal the ruling. “This was a really tragic ending to a tragic story,” he said.
The prosecutors, San Francisco Assistant District Attorneys Sean Connolly and Phoebe Maffei, said in a statement that the sentence reflects the seriousness of DePape’s actions and the harm he caused to innocent men. .
“You can’t rejoice in such cases. There are no winners.”
The defense argued that the state case amounted to double jeopardy, arguing that although the state and federal counts were not exactly the same, the two cases stemmed from the same law. The judge dismissed some of the state charges but stayed others that are not the subject of the federal lawsuit.
The attack on Paul Pelosi on October 28, 2022, captured on police body camera footage days before the midterm elections, shocked the political world. He suffered head injuries, including a skull fracture, which was repaired with plates and screws.
Mr. DePape, a Canadian national who has lived in the United States for many years, said in a federal court that if Nancy Pelosi did not admit to her lies, he would take her hostage, record the interrogation, and “break her kneecaps.” ” he admitted that he had intended to do so. She said she spoke about “Russiagate,” a reference to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
