'Botched' sentencing of man who attacked Nancy Pelosi's husband could lead to redo
A judge's process goof during the sentencing of the man convicted of kidnapping and assaulting then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband could force a do-over.
"Today in Court at sentencing, the defendant did not allocute," reads a document filed shortly after 44-year-old David DePape was sentenced to 30 years in prison by Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley during the formal proceedings on Friday. " Of course, he is not required to do so. However, the record does not state that he had the opportunity to do so."
Allocution is defined as a direct address between the judge and the convicted defendant prior to sentencing.
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The process has the judge talk to the convicted person to ask if they want to speak before the sentencing is imposed.
"For the reasons stated above, the United States requests that the Court re-open sentencing for the limited purpose of personally addressing the defendant to permit him to allocute, and then pronounce the sentence and thereafter, issue the judgment in this case," prosecutors wrote in their conclusion. "This should be done within 14 days."
The process would properly give DePape a chance to speak on his own behalf.
DePape was described in court as standing silently and casting his eyes downward at times as Judge Corley handed the sentence.
The snafu was first reported by Politico's Josh Gerstein who tweeted, "Prosecutors say judge botched sentencing of man convicted of attacking Paul Pelosi. Judge Corley failed to ask defendant whether he wished to address her before she imposed 30-year sentence. May require re-do."
Jurors found DePape guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official when he wailed on Paul Pelosi with a hammer.
The prosecutors initially sought a lengthier 40-year prison term. DePape's defense attorneys sought a softer 14 years, highlighting his clean criminal past and difficult time in his life.