DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt sentenced a homicide defendant to 24 years of incarceration on Oct. 31.
On April 4, Terry Thompson, 33, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed for his involvement in the fatal shooting of Christopher Callahan, 64, at a 7-Eleven store on the Avenue, SW, on May 15, 2023.
Through the deal, parties agreed to a sentencing range of 19-to-24 years of incarceration.
The victim’s daughter asked for the maximum sentence of 24 years, telling Thompson that she would never forgive him for taking her dad from her.
She told Thompson that, because of him, she would never see her dad’s smile again, or hear his voice, and that she would listen to her dad’s voice on her mom’s phone.
She explained how difficult it was to tell her son that his grandfather wouldn’t come back. “I miss everything about my dad,” she told Judge Brandt, adding that she wouldn’t wish what happened to her on anybody.
She asked Thompson why he had done it, to which Thompson replied that “The devil made me do it.”
The prosecuting attorney agreed with the 24-year maximum sentence proposed by the victim’s daughter, claiming that “all actions have consequences, but certain actions have irreparable consequences.” He said that the victim was sitting in a walker with “no ability to defend himself.”
The prosecution also argued that there may not have been a “genuineness” to Thompson’s behavior plagued by mental health difficulties. During a video of the shooting, Thompson was shown to use a rifle to shoot the victim and “calmly” walk away.
The prosecuting attorney claimed that a rifle went beyond the “typical handgun” that many people carry for self-defense, and that a rifle had to be concealed, which demonstrated that Thompson made “a choice” to “arm himself.” The prosecurtor described the shooting and preparation as a series of “thoughtful actions” by a “competent” and a “fully-developed adult.”
He said that the prosecution was “not just a hammer that sees the entire world as nails,” but that actions have consequences, and that the victim was a “real man who was murdered.” He asked for 24 years of incarceration, which he called a “harsh but fair” consequence.
Defense attorney Patrick O’Sullivan asked for the minimum sentence of 19 years of incarceration.
He agreed that there was “no question” the incident was “traumatic.” However, he argued that the murder wasn’t calculated like the prosecution claimed, but rather, a “random act” that Thompson made while experiencing “psychotic symptoms.”
He claimed that the defense was trying to “get to the root” of Thompson’s problems, and said that Thompson had suffered from mental illness his entire life and had been treated.
He said that the prosecution acknowledged that Thompson’s behavior on the day of the crime was “odd” and “inexplicable,” even if the prosecution wouldn’t acknowledge Thompson’s mental illness.
He described the shooting, where Thompson didn’t try to “get away” from the crime like many other shooters, but walked away “calmly.” O’Sullivan explained that Thompson then returned to the body in front of a crowd of witnesses, and he was found in the area the following day, wearing the same clothes.
O’Sullivan argued that “someone in their right state of mind” would not display these behaviors, and that they demonstrate a “lack of full understanding” on Thompson’s part.
He called Thompson a “different person” since starting anti-psychotic medication, and that his medication and treatment are cause for “optimism” because “he’s never had that.”
O’Sullivan argued that deterrence, like incarceration, is “only effective if someone is thinking rationally.” He said that the difference between 19 and 24 years wouldn’t matter because Thompson needed mental health support. He asked for 19 years so that Thompson could be released back into the community and have a chance to make amends.
Judge Brandt called the killing an “eerily calm killing of an older man” who couldn’t defend himself. She told Thompson that she was happy he was receiving treatment and trying to reach a place of stability, but that he needed to “think about getting on that path to get better” because he would be “released from prison one day” and needed to be able to function in society.
Judge Brandt sentenced Thompson to 24 years of incarceration with five years of supervised release.
Parties are not slated to reconvene.
