Global Courant 2023-05-03 20:15:24
A man was sentenced to life without parole on Tuesday for murdering three people at a church dinner in Alabama in June.
Robert Findlay Smith, 71, pleaded guilty to murder and waived his right to appeal, AL.com reported.
Smith was charged with the June 16, 2022 shooting of Walter “Bart” Rainey, 84, of Irondale; Sarah Yeager, 75, of Pelham; and Jane Pounds, 84, of Hoover. They were killed during a potluck dinner at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, a community just southeast of Birmingham.
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“I relive the night of June 16 over and over again, and probably always will,” said Linda Rainey, whose husband was killed. “My heart tells me that the shooter will also relive that night over and over again.”
Defense attorney Emory Anthony apologized on behalf of Smith: “We are so grateful to the families of each of those victims for agreeing to allow him to plead for life. He could have received the death penalty. they don’t just talk about being Christian, they acted like Christians. I know it hurts every one of the family members, but we say thanks to every one of them.”
Robert Findlay Smith was sentenced to life without parole in the shooting of three elderly people who died at a church dinner in Alabama. (Jefferson County Jail via AP, file)
Neither Anthony nor the prosecutor’s office said they knew why Smith opened fire that night.
“I believe he is remorseful,” said Anthony.
Police at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, one of Alabama’s two most populous cities, responded to a report of an active shooter. There were about 25 people at the “Boomers Potluck”, including Smith, who had previously attended the church and at least one of the diners.
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Smith was sitting alone and an old church member approached him and invited him to sit at a table, said Rev. Doug Carpenter, who founded the church in 1973 and retired in 2005. Smith” and refused to join them.
Smith then pulled out a gun and, according to authorities, shot three people. Jim Musgrove, a church member, hit the gunman with a chair and wrestled the gun away from him.
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Rainey was pronounced dead at the scene. Yeager and Pounds were taken to a hospital where they later died.
“This kind of senseless murder of three innocent people is certainly a case that our office would normally try before a jury and seek the death penalty, but that was not the wish of the three families in this case,” said District Attorney Danny Carr. . said. “After much discussion, thought and prayer, the families were unanimous in favoring a plea of guilt over manslaughter and life without parole.”
