SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge will reopen the sentencing hearing for the man who broke into Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and bludgeoned her husband with a hammer after the judge did not was not allowed to speak during his court appearance last week.
Friday, District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley sentenced David DePape to 20 years for attempted kidnapping of Nancy Pelosi and 30 years for the October 28, 2022 assault on Paul Pelosi, the maximum for both counts. The sentences would run simultaneously. DePape also received credit for the 18 months he was in custody.
But in a court filing this weekend, Corley said it was a “clear error” on her part not to give DePape the opportunity to make a statement before being sentenced as required by law . She set a new hearing for May 28.
Neither prosecutors nor DePape’s defense attorneys pointed out Corley’s oversight during Friday’s hearing. “Nevertheless, it was the responsibility of the Court to personally ask Mr. DePape if he wished to speak,” Corley wrote.
Hours after Corley handed down the sentence, prosecutors filed a motion pointing out that the court had not afforded DePape the opportunity to “speak or present information to alleviate the sentence” as required by federal rule . They asked the court to reopen the sentencing hearing to allow him that option, saying the court had 14 days to correct a sentence resulting from an error.
DePape’s defense, however, said it opposed his client’s return to court, according to the prosecutor’s filing.
DePape’s defense attorneys appealed the verdict shortly after Friday’s sentencing. Corley gave them until Wednesday to respond to his order to reopen the sentencing hearing.
A jury found DePape, 44, guilty in November of attempting to kidnap a federal official and assaulting a member of a federal official’s immediate family. Prosecutors had requested a 40-year prison sentence.
The attack on Paul Pelosi, then 82 years old, was captured on police body camera video just days before the 2022 midterm elections and sent shock wave in the political world. He suffered two head injuries, including a fractured skull that was repaired with plates and screws that he will keep for the rest of his life. His right arm and hand were also injured.
Before the sentencing, one of DePape’s lawyers, Angela Chuang, asked the judge to consider the prison sentences given to those who participated in the case. Attack of January 6, 2021 at the Capitol.
“The five harshest sentences for people convicted of seditious conspiracy, literal conspiracy to overthrow the government, range from 15 to 22 years,” Chuang said.
Corley said the Jan. 6 analogy did not adequately reflect the severity of the intrusion into an elected official’s private home. The home attack could have a deterrent effect on people seeking employment in the future, she said, adding that she believed DePape still posed a danger to society.
“I haven’t seen anything that suggests that if he had the opportunity, he wouldn’t again act on his baseless beliefs,” she said.
DéPape admitted at trial that he broke into the Pelosis’ house on October 28, 2022, intending to take the speaker hostage and force her to admit to corruption. “If she lied, I would break her kneecaps,” he said. Nancy Pelosi was not home at the time.
DePape also admitted to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer when police arrived, saying his plan to end what he saw as government corruption was falling apart.
At trial, DePape, a Canadian who moved to the United States more than 20 years ago, testified that he believed the media repeatedly lied about former President Donald Trump. In rants posted to a blog and online forum that were deleted after his arrest, DePape echoed baseless rhetoric from the right. QAnon conspiracy The theory that a cabal of devil-worshipping pedophiles runs the US government.
Corley said DePape is being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and will be deported once he serves his sentence.
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News Source : apnews.com
