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submitted 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

State charges included kidnapping, first-degree burglary and false imprisonment of husband of Nancy Pelosi

The man who was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for attacking the husband of Nancy Pelosi with a hammer in their California home was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole following a separate state trial.

A San Francisco jury in June found David DePape guilty of charges including aggravated kidnapping, first-degree burglary and false imprisonment of an elder.

Before issuing the sentence, Judge Harry Dorfman dismissed arguments from DePape’s attorneys that he be granted a new trial for the 2022 attack against Paul Pelosi, who was 82 years old at the time.

“It’s my intention that Mr DePape will never get out of prison, he can never be paroled,” Dorfman said while handing out the punishment.

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[-] jaggedrobotpubes@lemmy.world 12 points 6 hours ago

The justice department have become such pussies that I'm wondering what incorrect thing caused this correct level of sentencing to happen. Did he protest the genocide of Palestinians during his trial?

[-] Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world 13 points 7 hours ago

He's a conservative hero. The next Republicunt president will pardon him and he will be treated like a star on the conservative talkshow guest circuit.

[-] hperrin@lemmy.world 5 points 1 hour ago

State charges can’t be pardoned by the president. The governor of California would be the one with that power.

[-] NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 70 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

“This is a man who has always been a peaceful, law-abiding person up until his activation,” Lipson said.

When given the chance to address the court before his sentencing, DePape, dressed in prison orange and with his brown hair in a ponytail, spoke at length about September 11 being an inside job, his ex-wife being replaced by a body double, and his government-provided attorneys conspiring against him.

“I’m a psychic,” DePape told the court, reading from sheets of paper. “The more I meditate, the more psychic I get.”

And the attorney wants them to reconsider the sentence? Sounds like he needs some serious therapy, and institutionalized, not let out.

[-] billiam0202@lemmy.world 49 points 10 hours ago

“This is a man who has always been a peaceful, law-abiding person up until his activation,” Lipson said.

Oh fuck all the way off, asshole. His brain was rotted from right-wing media- there was no secret hidden sub-programming which could be turned on with a code word.

Also, fuck you again. Everyone is a peaceful, law-abiding person until they decide to break the law.

[-] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago

People with certain mental illnesses are far more susceptible to conspiracy theories and other such nonsense. It doesn’t excuse what he did but it’s important to recognize this. Our society is a much more dangerous place for these kinds of vulnerable individuals than it was before mass media, simply because of the huge amount of exposure they have to harmful materials.

[-] flying_sheep@lemmy.ml 1 points 34 minutes ago

I think Europe has been a bad place for them for a long time, because the church has put religious paranoia into their heads any also was petty terrible to them.

The only societies I can think of where they had a place were some indigenous American ones, where there was a role for people who are in connection with the spirit world.

[-] samus12345@lemmy.world 10 points 9 hours ago

Until they're caught breaking the law, anyway.

[-] athairmor@lemmy.world 13 points 10 hours ago

Did they not try an insanity defense? He must have been declared competent, I guess.

[-] TallonMetroid@lemmy.world 18 points 10 hours ago

My understanding is that insanity defense has a very high bar, beyond what the public would commonly consider "crazy", so it's not actually something that happens often. And even then, actually getting out of whatever institution you're remanded to isn't guaranteed.

[-] NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 7 points 10 hours ago

I dont want to armchair assess too much, but reading a statement that involves your psychic powers, assuming that's real, the guy is not mentally fit.

[-] stoly@lemmy.world 4 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

You have to be completely divorced from reality and really have no idea what you’re doing. This guy is a kook but knew that hitting old people with hammers is bad.

[-] TallonMetroid@lemmy.world 14 points 10 hours ago

I agree that the man is clearly off his rocker, but from a legal perspective, what matters is whether or not you understand that you have, in fact, killed a dude, and that this is in fact a bad thing. Having voices in your head telling you to do it is a completely separate issue. Again, this is my understanding as a layman, so any actual lawyers please feel free to tell me I'm full of shit.

[-] GladiusB@lemmy.world 1 points 6 hours ago

Probably if he ever sought help. He was married at one point. Did it come up in the divorce? All these things can be a factor from my understanding.

[-] zephorah@lemm.ee 26 points 10 hours ago

Just think, voting for Trump means you’re voting in a pardon for this guy.

[-] athairmor@lemmy.world 24 points 10 hours ago

Life sentence is from the state charges. President can’t pardon that. But, yeah, he’ll pardon the federal charges if he gets the chance.

[-] samus12345@lemmy.world 9 points 9 hours ago

Will he? He said he'd pardon a lot of people when he was still able and never did. He only cares about people with power or fame, not nobodies like this guy.

[-] athairmor@lemmy.world 6 points 8 hours ago

I guess it depends on whether he needs to rile his base. The GOP already has them frothing at the name “Pelosi”. He might do it as an intimidation tactic. Hopefully, we never find out because he never gets the chance.

[-] zephorah@lemm.ee -3 points 10 hours ago

That does not sound real. If a presidential power to pardon is unlimited except in the case of impeachment, why would that matter? Even Congress can’t stop it.

[-] samus12345@lemmy.world 5 points 9 hours ago

Because it's unlimited for federal crimes only.

[-] procrastitron@lemmy.world 7 points 10 hours ago

@athairmor@lemmy.world is right; presidents cannot pardon state level crimes: https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013316/

Specifically, the offense must be “against the United States”, and state level offenses are only against the respective state, not the United States.

[-] TransplantedSconie@lemm.ee 33 points 11 hours ago
[-] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 11 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

Prison-as-a-mental-healthcare-system should not exist. Of course, that would require leadership that is neither conservative nor neoliberal.

[-] michaelmrose@lemmy.world 2 points 41 minutes ago

I prefer the well being of the rest of society to the violently unwell. That is to say I would basically sacrifice the offenders health, happiness and even his life for a 1% increase in the chance that he is never free to harm the rest of society.

[-] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago

This guy is wack, but he also tried to kill someone. He deserves jail, and needs mental help.

[-] Rapidcreek@lemmy.world 21 points 11 hours ago

How long before Trump calls him a patriot and a political prisoner?

[-] Samvega@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 11 hours ago

My mind hadn't even gone here yet, so I wasn't ready, and I was appalled rather than just being quietly furious with certainty that this will happen, probably tomorrow.

[-] just_another_person@lemmy.world 19 points 11 hours ago

Good riddance.

[-] midnight_puker@sh.itjust.works 13 points 10 hours ago

Taste the hammer of justice, scum.

[-] snausagesinablanket@lemmy.world 5 points 11 hours ago

Hammer time!

[-] MediaBiasFactChecker@lemmy.world -2 points 11 hours ago

The Guardian - News Source Context (Click to view Full Report)Information for The Guardian:

Wiki: reliable - There is consensus that The Guardian is generally reliable. The Guardian's op-eds should be handled with WP:RSOPINION. Some editors believe The Guardian is biased or opinionated for politics. See also: The Guardian blogs.
Wiki: mixed - Most editors say that The Guardian blogs should be treated as newspaper blogs or opinion pieces due to reduced editorial oversight. Check the bottom of the article for a "blogposts" tag to determine whether the page is a blog post or a non-blog article. See also: The Guardian.


MBFC: Left-Center - Credibility: Medium - Factual Reporting: Mixed - United Kingdom


Search topics on Ground.Newshttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/29/david-depape-sentenced-paul-pelosi-hammer-attack
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this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2024
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