Tacoma mall shooter Maldonado's sentence: 163 years
This just in, as reported by the Tacoma News-Tribune: Dominick Maldonado, the 22-year-old man who went on a shooting spree at the Tacoma Mall in 2005, has received his sentence.How long can he expect to spend behind bars?
163+ years.
That was more than I had expected (I was guessing a clean 99 years), but the testimony of his victims during sentencing probably helped Judge Linda Lee make up her mind.
Before Lee told him his life story, Maldonado, distancing himself from the strung out/meth using/text messaging child described in initial media reports, admitted his faults...sort of.
“I do take full responsibility,” he said.Come on. Anyone who knows the first thing about apologizing will know that when directly followed by the word "but," the sincerity behind an apology instantly goes down the drain.
But he also criticized the justice system, saying that he thought he was treated unfairly.
"Unfairly" doesn't seem appropriate in this case. The facts were plain and simple from the beginning...there was never any question about his guilt. If you take "full responsibility," then fess up: realize that you made an incredibly stupid decision - one that permanently ruined your victims' lives, all because you were caught up in a drug-induced emofest - and take your punishment like a man.
And for a babyfaced 22 year old like Maldonado, about to spend the rest of his natural life with large men behind bars in an American correctional facility, one can only imagine how unpleasant that punishment will be.
The above picture of Dominick Maldonado was initial provided to the AP by the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, and taken from this CNN story.
