Spires receives 35 years for Kevin Sutherland homicide

By D.C. Witness Staff - February 10, 2018
Court | Homicides | Suspects |

The man who pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing Kevin Sutherland was sentenced to 35 years on Feb. 9.

In addition to his sentence, Jasper Spires will be required to serve five additional years under supervised release. The court has ordered that Spires, 21, also receive mental health treatment and undergo a mental evaluation prior to his release.

“I do not hate the defendant, but I hate what he did to my son,” Sutherland’s father, said during the sentencing. Sutherland’s parents spoke about their love for their only son.

Sutherland, who was 24 at the time of his death, was robbed and stabbed on a Red line metro train as it approached the NoMa-Gallaudet University metro station on Independence Day in 2015. According to reports, Spires also robbed other people before leaving the metro station.

“Our grief will go beyond 30 to 35 years, and I am glad we are not beholden to this courthouse, because Kevin never lived in these four walls,” Sutherland’s cousin said. “He lived in this city.” The trial began in October of 2015.

As part of the plea deal, the government would not pursue other charges that are not related to the homicide.

Craig Hickein, Spires’ defense attorney, said Spires wanted to take responsibility for his actions.

According to a report from St. Elizabeths Hospital, D.C.’s psychiatric facility, issued on May 10, 2017, doctors said that even though Spires was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the murder, he still had control over his actions.

Judge Judith Bartnoff said that while Spires’ mental illness provides some explanation, it is not enough for the family and friends of Sutherland.

In preparation for sentencing, the judge said she received and read 60 impact statements from several members of Sutherland’s family and the community, detailing how the homicide has affected them both personally and professionally.

Sutherland graduated from American University in 2013. He served as an intern for Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) and worked as a digital political strategist for digital strategy firm New Blue Interactive.