US Navy Veteran gets 3 life sentences for killing Srinivas Kuchibhotla

Mangalore Today News Network

Australia, Aug 08, 2018 : A US Navy veteran was on Tuesday awarded three consecutive life sentences on federal hate crime charges for killing Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla and wounding two others at a suburban Kansas City bar last year.

 

Adam Purinton of Olathe shot and killed 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla, and wounded two others - Indian national Alok Madasani and Kansas resident Ian Grillot - at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kansas, in February 2017.

Earlier this year, he pleaded guilty in federal court to hate crime and firearm offenses arising out of the shooting.

At his federal guilty-plea hearing, Purinton admitted in open court that he targeted and shot Mr Kuchibhotla and Mr Madasani because of their race, colour, and national origin, and that he shot Mr Grillot during an attempt to flee the scene of the crime.

The sentences handed down in federal court today will run consecutively to another life sentence 53-year-old Purinton previously received for first-degree murder in Johnson County District Court.

None of his victims were in court today.

"The crimes at issue in this case are detestable," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.

"The defendant acted with clear premeditation in murdering one man, and attempting to murder a second man, simply because of their race, religion, and national origin. As a result, a promising young life has been tragically cut short, and other lives have been filled with suffering."

Jeff Sessions said that while the "irreparable harm" that Purinton has done cannot be undone, "some measure of justice for the victims’ families has been achieved."

In a statement, Mr Kuchibhotla’s widow said that her husband was always "respectful to others" and would have helped Purinton understand that not every brown skinned person is evil but is contributing to America’s growth.

"My husband was more than what you chose to address him as. Always kind, caring, and respectful to others. Srinu and I came to the US of America full of dreams and aspirations...Now, my American Dream - and that of Srinu’s - is broken," Sunayana Dumala said in the statement read out in court today as Purinton was sentenced, calling her husband by his informal name.

"...(U)se the time that is being given to you to educate yourself and inform others who are still out in the open and stop them from killing innocent people as you did - choosing violence over kindness," she added.


courtesy:NDTV