The Plea

I cannot begin to tell you just how sorry I am. I grieve deeply every time I remember the event that removed my friend from the face of this planet. I fully understand that the situation was avoidable, but those involved would not let it be; you pushed and pushed, and finally, you killed my friend.

Your honor. Thank you for allowing me to address the court before sentencing. I hope my words make an impression on those listening. Sadie lived through some horrific events in her life. Bone cancer, amputation, and the recent loss of both her parents in a relatively short period. But she maintained a cheerful attitude and felt if she smiled at people, they would smile back.

Sadie and I have known each other for more than four decades. Friends for life since kindergarten when we got in trouble in school for talking and snuck around the room making fake phone calls for help. She had a family—a husband, two boys, and a daughter less than a year old. I have no idea what to say to them to ease their pain. I’m not sure there is ever anything that can be said to relieve them of the loss. It is permanent. It is complete. 

The holiday season brings out the best and the worst in people. This time in you, it brought out evil. Sadie was going to the mall one last time to pick up a gift for her husband. They were married a few weeks short of a decade. A 10th anniversary Robert will never celebrate. She parked in an open spot, and you stopped behind her, blowing your horn like you were entitled to the parking spot at some greater level than Sadie. 

She was in the handicapped spot. She was entitled to use this spot after her right leg was removed due to cancer a few years ago. You jumped out of your car and started yelling at her to move, commenting that she did not have a handicapped thingy, your words, hanging from the mirror. Her license plates are that of a fully handicapped individual, and in case you are unaware, she does not…. Did not need the handicapped placard on the mirror. The plates on the car are more than enough.

The videos used against you in the trial say it all. You wanted that spot to shop. You were upset that Sadie was in that spot, and you, a person without a handicap or entitlement to park in the place, let your anger enflame. Sadie was getting out of her car as you approached. She did not see you as you pushed her to the ground, screaming at her like someone who was not present at the moment. We have all sat and watched the cell phone video from multiple angles. You all understand my meaning, and I will not say it. Your anger did not allow you to see reality. You lived that moment in a bubble, your mind focused on something we cannot understand. 

Sadie managed to get herself to a standing position, trying to explain to you that the tag on her car was all that was needed for her to park in the spot. She never raised her voice to you, nor did she make any movements that could have been taken as abrupt or that you felt you were in danger. The slap you gave her looked to all of us like you had gotten your way far too quickly in the past. You are a bully. In your mind, you are entitled to whatever you think you deserve, and at that moment, you felt you deserved Sadie’s parking spot.

You pulled a gun from your pocket and shot her three times. Once in the stomach, once in the heart, and once in the head. She was dead by your hand. She would never see her family again; her family would never again hold her, talk to her, or feel her presence in the events families look forward to, like birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, weddings, and grandchildren. For what. A parking spot at a mall during the most joyful time of the year.

Those watching tackled you to the ground, calling for the police and securing the murder weapon. The police discovered you were carrying a pistol concealed with no permit to do so, considering you are a convicted felon. The placard on your mirror looked good, but the police determined it was printed on the printer in your living room and doctored to look real enough to park in a handicapped parking spot. Your past forging and counterfeiting skills are showing themselves once again.

As the police placed you in handcuffs, you repeated it was not your fault. She was parking in a spot she did not deserve. Did she deserve to die? Did you have the right to take her life?

As she lay on the ground next to her open car door, we were all thankful her children were not with her. Those close to her tried to help her, but your last shot hit her dead center in the forehead, ensuring there was no possible way to survive the encounter with such an anger-filled, entitled woman.

You are at sentencing. You have been convicted of the murder of my friend. You have not shown remorse; you are still playing the victim. Your self-defense plea shattered, as did your life, once the cell phone videos played. All nine of them showed the same thing. You. Angry. Upset. Violent. It recorded the death of my friend by your hand. 

You will never see your children again. You will never taste the air as a free woman. Life in prison is too good for you. My only solace is that you will not be able to do this to someone else’s friend or someone else’s family. You are a murderer. You killed in cold blood. You deserve the maximum penalty. 

Your honor, councilors, honored members of the jury, family, and friends. In closing, I cannot begin to tell you just how sorry I am. I grieve deeply every time I remember the event that removed my friend from the face of this planet. I trust you will do what is necessary. Provide the maximum sentence for the senseless murder of my friend Sadie, a wife and a mother. Thank you for listening.