Freeman Shooter Sentencing Day 5: Mother faces her son’s killer
SPOKANE, Wash. – A local mother faced her son’s killer for the first time.
Ami Strahan’s son, 15-year-old Sam Strahan, was killed when Caleb Sharpe opened fire at Freeman High School in 2017.
Strahan took the stand Thursday in what was the fifth day of Sharpe’s sentencing hearings.
Strahan wore a picture of her son while she testified, noting that she was Sam’s only living parent at the time of his death. Her husband was killed in a tragic accident only three months before Sam was killed.
“Sam wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t deserve to die,” she said directly to Sharpe. “You chose to shoot him again. You took my son in the worst way possible and you had zero remorse. You ruined my life.”
Strahan wants Sharpe to serve the maximum amount of time for his crimes.
“He has sat in every hearing with his face down, not stepping up and facing the damage he has caused. He should never get to see the light of day, never have children, never enjoy a life outide of jail. He took that away from my son, and he deserves absolutely nothing,” she said. “My preference would be for you to suffer the same fate you dealt to your classmates, but that is not possible. Me and my family will live with this the rest of our lives, and you should suffer the same.”
Not only did Strahan testify, but so did the families of three girls who were also shot that day. Gracie Jensen, Emma Nees and Jordan Goldsmith survived their injuries, but as they testified on Thursday, all deal with the trauma of what happened five years ago.
“How do you write something about someone who shot you” Jensen said.
Nees said being shot “continues to change her life to this day.”
“The victims have endured so much trauma over these last five years and never resorted to violence,” Nees said directly to Sharpe.
In previous hearings, doctors testified that Sharpe had an immature brain at the time he opened fire.
Nees noted that none of the experts talked about the immature brains of those who were shot and the lifelong impact it will have on them.
“I hope all the terrible things that can happen to you in prison do because they will never be as bad as what you did to Sam and the whole Freeman community,” Nees said to Sharpe.
She told the court that Sam is a hero and his decision to face Sharpe during the shooting gave everyone else time to get away.
“Sam saved lives,” she said.
Jensen, Nees and Goldsmith grew up together but said they have grown closer in ways they could not imagine because of the tragedy they lived through.
They are also asking for the maximum sentence to be handed down.
Sharpe will be back in court on Friday when a judge will make that decision.
READ: Freeman Shooter Sentencing Day 4: Doctor concerned Sharpe could develop personality disorder
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