A man convicted of killing two men and injuring a third on a light rail train in Portland in 2017 was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, CBS affiliate KOIN-TV reported. Jeremy Christian was found guilty earlier this year on 12 counts, including the murders of Taliesin Namkai-Meche, 23, and Ricky Best, 53.
“I’m hoping you’re able to accept responsibility one day,” Judge Cheryl Albrecht said before she handed down the sentence, KOIN-TV reported.
Albrecht, who announced the sentencing after hearing several victim impact statements, said her decision was based on Christian not showing a willingness to be rehabilitated nor had he displayed remorse for the killings.
Christian yelled “F—- Muslims” at two teen girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab, on the light rail train in 2017 before stabbing Namkai-Meche, Best and a third man, Micah Fletcher, who tried to intervene to stop the hate-filled tirade, one of the teens, Walia Mohamed, testified in January. Mohamed said she and her friend Destinee Magnum, who are both black, didn’t realize that Christian had a knife until they saw him stab Namkai-Meche. She said they ran, terrified.
Court documents in the case say Namkai-Meche and Fletcher were trying to stop Christian’s ranting and protect the two teenagers when a fight broke out. Best then tried to intervene and all three were stabbed in the neck.
The sentence was handed down a day after deputies escorted Christian out of the courtroom at the judge’s orders after he told a survivor he regretted not killing her.
His outburst was directed at Demetria Hester, a black woman who suffered a serious eye injury after Christian struck her with a half-filled Gatorade bottle. She described him as a white supremacist and a plague on society.
