Yesterday the state supreme court in Arizona commuted to life without parole the death sentence of Frank Roque, the man who killed gas station owner Balbir Singh Sodi after 9/11 because he thought he was Muslim (thanks Atul for the news tip):
The high court unanimously agreed that Frank Silva Roque’s mental illness and low IQ were mitigating factors and should have resulted in the lesser sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole.
“We have such a doubt in this case, and therefore conclude that the death penalty should not be imposed,” Vice Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch wrote. “Because of the serious nature of Roque’s crimes, however, we conclude that he should be imprisoned for the rest of his natural life and never be released.”
A gracious reaction from the victim’s family:
“As long as he is away from society and our family, it’s fine,” said his brother, Rana Singh Sodhi, though he questioned the high court’s assertion that Roque is mentally ill.
“I don’t think mentally ill people can make those (deliberate decisions about) targets,” he said.
Not much to add here, but the news — a victory for justice, since the conviction was upheld, and (in my opinion) for humanity, since another life won’t be unnecessarily taken — seems significant enough to disseminate. Here’s Ennis’s post on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Balbir Singh Sodhi’s death, last September.
