Judge Reopens Sentencing Hearing for Man Who Attacked Pelosi’s Husband
The New York Times
The court said it made a mistake by not asking David DePape if he had anything to say at his sentencing hearing. The parties will be back in court on May 28.
A judge reopened on Saturday a sentencing hearing for the intruder who bludgeoned Nancy Pelosi’s husband two years ago, admitting that the court had not given the defendant a chance to make a statement.
David DePape was sentenced on Friday to 30 years in federal prison for breaking into the San Francisco home of Ms. Pelosi, who was speaker of the House at the time, and attacking her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer. But it was a mistake to not ask Mr. DePape beforehand if he had anything to say, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley acknowledged in a court order, setting a May 28 date to reopen the hearing to allow Mr. DePape to make a statement.
During Friday’s hearing, Judge Corley wrote, “no party brought to the court’s attention” that it had not allowed Mr. DePape to speak, a requirement of federal criminal procedures. “As the court did not do so, it committed clear error,” she wrote.
The error is unlikely to alter the sentence, but Mr. DePape will now have the opportunity to make a case for a more lenient one. The error was noticed by prosecutors on Friday afternoon, shortly after the sentence was read, and they quickly notified the court. Mr. DePape’s lawyers promptly filed an appeal.
Mr. DePape was convicted at trial last November of two federal crimes for the attack: attempted kidnapping of a federal officer and assault on an immediate family member of a federal official. On Friday, Judge Corley imposed the maximum sentence allowed by law — 20 years for the kidnapping charge and 30 years for the assault offense, to run concurrently, with credit for time served.
Public defenders representing Mr. DePape had asked for a total sentence of 14 years, saying he had taken responsibility for his actions and that he had been manipulated both by his partner, who they said was abusive, and by online conspiracy theories.
