So, less than two decades from now, he’ll be able to return to a Mall of America and throw more white children from balconies?
Seems fair to me.
A well-rounded sentence.
The man who pleaded guilty to throwing a 5-year-old boy off a balcony at the Mall of America was sentenced Monday to 19 years in prison. Emmanuel Aranda pleaded guilty last month to one count of attempted premeditated murder for throwing the child from a third-floor balcony on April 12.
CBS Minneapolis reports the boy survived the 39-foot fall but suffered significant head trauma and broken bones. According to the family, his recovery has been slow, with several procedures in the weeks since the assault. The boy, identified in court only as Landen, needed multiple surgeries for head trauma and other injuries. No update on his recovery was provided in court Monday, though his parents described it as miraculous.
Aranda told investigators he went to the mall “looking for someone to kill.” According to the complaint, the 24-year-old had tried unsuccessfully to talk to women in the mall but their rejection “caused him to lash out and be aggressive.” He said he had planned to kill an adult before choosing the child instead.
In a victim impact statement, the parents of the boy decried Aranda’s actions as “evil” but said they forgive him.
…
Aranda’s attorney, Paul Sellers, did not raise a mental illness defense. Aranda did acknowledge in response to a question from the judge that he had been in mental health court previously and completed required treatment. No further details were provided.
He had two past convictions for assaults at the mall, both in 2015, and had been banned from the property at one point. Court records showed Aranda was ordered to undergo psychological evaluation or treatment after those assaults.
