He killed eight people in cold blood. For this Robert Long (22) was sentenced to life imprisonment. The 22-year-old admitted in a Cherokee County court Tuesday that he killed four people in a massage parlor in the southern state of Georgia in March.
“Justice has been served today and the defendant pleaded guilty to all charges and received four consecutive life sentences with no early release,” Prosecutor Shannon Wallace said after the hearing at a news conference. In the second trial, he faces the death penalty.
However, he faces the death penalty in Fulton County, where he committed four other murders. The Cherokee District court sentenced the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to four life sentences plus 35 years with no prospect of parole. The verdict was therefore the result of a deal by the defense, which saved the 22-year-old from the death penalty.
The prosecutor of the neighboring district of Fulton, Fani Willis, wants, however, according to court documents, that the act is classified as a hate crime and Long is sentenced to death.
Not a racist motive, but sexual
The victims in the three attacks, which all occurred in quick succession on the same day, were predominantly of Asian descent. One man survived with serious injuries.
The shooter had stated that he acted not from racist, but from sexual motives. The act had fueled heated debate in the United States about increasing hatred and violence against Americans of Asian origin.
The 22-year-old said at the hearing that he first bought a gun to kill himself. Finally he got drunk and drove to the first massage parlor to get sexual services there. While still in the car, he decided to kill the people there. He stated that he wanted to “punish” her. “It was essentially a blame for my actions on her,” he says. The defendant stated that, according to his understanding, sex is only okay in marriage. (SDA / AFP / jmh)