Johnson County District Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan imposed the sentence for Frazier Glenn Miller Jr., who was convicted of one count of capital murder, three counts of attempted murder, and assault and weapons charges for the April 2014 shootings in suburban Kansas City. The same jury that convicted him in August recommended that Miller be sentenced to death. "Your attempt to bring hate this this community, to bring terror to this community, has failed," Ryan said sternly before sentencing Miller to die by lethal injection. "You have failed, Mr. Miller." Upon Ryan's announcement, Miller yelled "Heil Hitler" and was removed from the courtroom.
Frazier Glenn Miller Jr., convicted in August of capital murder, attempted murder and other charges, gestures as Johnson County deputies remove Miller from the courtroom during the sentencing phase of his trial at the Johnson County District Court in Olathe, Kans., Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. Johnson County District Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan followed a jury's recommendation and sentenced the avowed anti-Semite to death Tuesday for the fatal shootings of three people at Kansas Jewish sites.
Miller said he shot his victims because he wanted to kill Jewish people before he dies. He suffers from chronic emphysema and has said he doesn't have long to live. A doctor testified during trial that Miller is ill and likely has five to six years left. All three of his victims were Christians. He killed William Corporon, 69, and Corporon's 14-year-old grandson, Reat Griffin Underwood, at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas. He then shot 53-year-old Terri LaManno at the nearby Village Shalom retirement center. Thirteen people addressed the court Tuesday afternoon either in person or through written statements, including family members of the victims.
Frazier Glenn Miller Jr., convicted in August of capital murder, attempted murder and other charges, is subdued by Johnson County deputies after he made a gesture in he courtroom during the sentencing phase in his trial at the Johnson County District Court in Olathe, Kans., Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. Johnson County District Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan followed a jury's recommendation and sentenced the avowed anti-Semite to death Tuesday for the fatal shootings of three people at Kansas Jewish sites.
One of them was 13-year-old Lukas Losen, Reat's brother and Corporon's grandson, who said he spent his 13th birthday at a psychiatric center. Few eyes in the crowded courtroom stayed dry as he described watching his grandmother "try to exist with a broken heart." "On that afternoon, I lost my childhood in a split second," Lukas said, his voice quivering as he brushed tears away. Corporon's wife, Melinda Corporon, described the love her husband had for his family and his work as an emergency room physician. She said he cared for people no matter what their religion, financial status or political beliefs. "It's hard without my best friend of 51 years," she said. "The evil that entered our lives that Sunday in April can't be denied. I'm here today to make sure this voice of evil is silenced permanently."
F. Glenn Miller Jr. speaks in court Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015 at his sentencing hearing in Johnson County Court in Olathe, Kan. District Judge Kelly Ryan has the option of following the jury’s death sentence recommendation or sentencing Miller to life in prison without parole. Miller Jr. was convicted in August of capital murder, attempted murder and other charges for killing three people at two Kansas Jewish sites Overland Park, Kansas.
Several witnesses, including Corporon's son Will and LaManno's husband, William LaManno, looked directly at Miller and called him a coward for ambushing Corporon and Reat and killing LaManno even as she begged for her life. Alissa LaManno, Terri's daughter, said every happy milestone she will have in her life will be a mixture of happiness and pain because her mother won't be there to experience them with her. "I wish I had one more hour with her," Alissa said, her voice trembling. "Just one more hour." To conclude victim statements, Mindy Corporon played a cellphone recording of her son Reat singing the national anthem as nearly everyone in the courtroom stood in a show of respect.
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