A court in the United States on Friday sentenced a Navy veteran to life in prison for shooting and killing Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in Kansas in February 2017, AP reported. Adam Purinton reportedly yelled “get out of my country” before fatally shooting Kuchibhotla at a bar.
The 52-year-old pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree murder for killing the 32-year-old engineer, and two counts of attempted first-degree murder for shooting Alok Madasani, a co-worker of Kuchibhotla, and Ian Grillot, who had tried to intervene.
The judgement ensures that Purinton will not be eligible for 77.5 years, The Kansas City Star reported. “Our goal is to make sure that he never walks in the community again, that he spends the rest of his life in the penitentiary, and I believe this sentence will achieve that result,” Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said after the sentencing.
The shooting took place just months after Donald Trump became the president, and had deepened fears that immigrants were facing persecution in the United States, especially after his campaign against them.
None of the victim’s family members were in court, but a statement from Kuchibhotla’s wife was read out. “I hope in the years that you must spend in the jail you will one day realise the magnitude of your mistake and work toward your penance,” Sunayana Dumala said.
Purinton did not make any statements after the verdict but he had accepted “full responsibility” when he pleaded guilty in March. “I hope that this plea might, in some small way, help reduce the suffering that I have caused them all,” Purinton had said in his statement.
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