Theodore Wafer was sentenced to at least 17 years in prison in the fatal shooting of unarmed 19-year-old Renisha McBride on his porch last November.
A man who shot and killed Renisha McBride while she was knocking on his door just before dawn in a Detroit suburb was sentenced to 17 to 32 years in prison after an emotional hearing that had both the defense attorney and a judge in tears as emotional family members looked on.
Theodore Wafer, 55, who was convicted last month of second-degree murder for shooting 19-year-old Renisha McBride in the face, read a short apology.
"To the parents, family and friends of Renisha McBride, I apologize from the bottom of my heart and I am truly sorry for your loss. I can only hope and pray," he said tearing up, "that somehow you can forgive me."
Judge Dana M. Hathaway then sentenced Wafer to 15 to 30 years in prison, plus two consecutive years for the gun crime.
McBride’s sister and father both read short statements before the sentencing; her father also read a statement from a younger sister who she said was having panic attacks and couldn’t attend the hearing.
“Many days I think about the good times we shared and how it was cut short by a person's cowardly actions,” said McBride’s sister, Jasmine McBride. "I was taught to apologize when I made a mistake or an accident. Never once had I heard Mr. Wafer send his condolences.... I find it very hard to believe that his actions were an accident."
Defense attorney Cheryl Carpenter argued with prosecutors before the sentencing, reminding Judge Dana M. Hathaway that this was not a premeditated murder.
“He has never been so afraid in his life,” Carpenter said. “He was in an extreme emotional state.... It is Mr. Wafer’s state of mind that you need to look at.”
Carpenter presented a number of reasons that the judge could give a lesser sentence, including Wafer’s age, 55, arguing that 17 years was a “death sentence.” She also said that he could be rehabilitated -- and that the jury didn’t want him to die in prison.
“They don’t think he's a bad guy,” she said, tearing up. “They don’t want a life sentence, they told you that.”
Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 17 years. Wafer was found guilty of second-degree murder, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 years, plus two for a gun crime.
McBride was involved in a car accident several blocks from Wafer’s house that evening. Her family believes she was knocking on his door for help. An autopsy found that she died of a single gunshot wound to the face.
Audio of the 911 call Wafer placed after the shooting offered no clarity as to why he shot McBride.
“Uh yes... I just shot somebody on my front porch with a shotgun, banging on my door," he says, then gives his address, and sounding a little confused, thanks the dispatcher and hangs up.
An unidentified member of the jury, made up of seven men and five women, told the Detroit Free-Press that "no one" believed that Wafer shot McBride in self-defense. His testimony did not hold water, the juror said, because Wafer first said that the shooting was an accident but then changed his story.
The family of McBride also filed a wrongful death lawsuit for more than $10 million.
Wafer's neighborhood, Dearborn Heights, is a middle-class, predominantly white suburb directly west of Detroit. Wafer had argued during the trial that crime was rising in his neighborhood, and said he “didn’t want to cower” in his own home.
Tensions between neighboring towns and counties and the city of Detroit have been running high for as long as the city has struggled economically. The affluent suburb of Grosse Point this summer erected a barrier on its border with Detroit; Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan eventually negotiated with Grosse Pointe to take it down.
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