Sentence for man who called Indians 'subhuman' Sat, March 15, 2008 - 10:52 AM
A Washington man who referred to Indians as "subhuman" was sentenced to 21 years in prison for murdering a man from the Yakama Nation.
Kevin Jory Braa, 47, was convicted of first-degree manslaughter for the death of Simeon Whitney, 35. Braa shot Whitney after Whitney and an Indian friend complained about Braa's racial comments.
The incident occurred on November 11, 2006. Whitney was from Wapato, on the Yakama Reservation.
By Jim Haley, Herald Writer
EVERETT -- A Marysville man who picked a fight in a tavern and then shot his opponent to death was sentenced to nearly 21 years in prison Thursday.
Kevin Jory Braa, 47, told a jury in February that he acted in self-defense when he killed Simeon Whitney, 35, of Wapato. The jurors didn't believe him.
The jury found that Braa acted recklessly. The shooting was not justifiable and he was guilty of first-degree manslaughter, the jury found. He was being tried on a charge of second-degree murder.
Braa on Thursday told the judge he was sorry that Whitney had to die.
"I do take issue with your statement that it was too bad Simeon had to die," Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ellen Fair said. "He didn't have to die."
She gave him nearly a year more in prison than the 20 years deputy prosecutor John Stansell recommended. Marybeth Dingledy asked for her client to be sentenced at the low end of the sentencing range, about 17 years.
One reason the sentencing range was high for Braa is that he also pleaded guilty to five counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Felons are not supposed to have guns unless a judge has restored that civil right. Braa was convicted in 1994 of drug possession.
Fair pointed out that Whitney would still be alive if Braa had not taken a loaded 9 mm pistol to Kuhnle's Tavern in downtown Marysville on Nov. 11, 2006.
The fight started after Braa made racist remarks about American Indians. Whitney, an American Indian, took exception.
Braa was told to leave the bar and Whitney followed him outside to the parking lot, where the shooting happened. Mortally wounded, Whitney stumbled back into the bar, collapsed and died.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or jhaley@heraldnet.com.
Being Indian is an attitude a state of mind a way of being in harmony with all things and all beings It is allowing the heart to be the distributor of energy on this planet to allow feelings and sensitivities to determine where energy goes bringing aliveness up from the Earth and down from the Sky putting it in and giving it out from the heart
A Washington man who referred to Indians as "subhuman" was sentenced to 21 years in prison for murdering a man from the Yakama Nation.
Kevin Jory Braa, 47, was convicted of first-degree manslaughter for the death of Simeon Whitney, 35. Braa shot Whitney after Whitney and an Indian friend complained about Braa's racial comments.
The incident occurred on November 11, 2006. Whitney was from Wapato, on the Yakama Reservation.
By Jim Haley, Herald Writer
EVERETT -- A Marysville man who picked a fight in a tavern and then shot his opponent to death was sentenced to nearly 21 years in prison Thursday.
Kevin Jory Braa, 47, told a jury in February that he acted in self-defense when he killed Simeon Whitney, 35, of Wapato. The jurors didn't believe him.
The jury found that Braa acted recklessly. The shooting was not justifiable and he was guilty of first-degree manslaughter, the jury found. He was being tried on a charge of second-degree murder.
Braa on Thursday told the judge he was sorry that Whitney had to die.
"I do take issue with your statement that it was too bad Simeon had to die," Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ellen Fair said. "He didn't have to die."
She gave him nearly a year more in prison than the 20 years deputy prosecutor John Stansell recommended. Marybeth Dingledy asked for her client to be sentenced at the low end of the sentencing range, about 17 years.
One reason the sentencing range was high for Braa is that he also pleaded guilty to five counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Felons are not supposed to have guns unless a judge has restored that civil right. Braa was convicted in 1994 of drug possession.
Fair pointed out that Whitney would still be alive if Braa had not taken a loaded 9 mm pistol to Kuhnle's Tavern in downtown Marysville on Nov. 11, 2006.
The fight started after Braa made racist remarks about American Indians. Whitney, an American Indian, took exception.
Braa was told to leave the bar and Whitney followed him outside to the parking lot, where the shooting happened. Mortally wounded, Whitney stumbled back into the bar, collapsed and died.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or jhaley@heraldnet.com.
Being Indian is an attitude a state of mind a way of being in harmony with all things and all beings It is allowing the heart to be the distributor of energy on this planet to allow feelings and sensitivities to determine where energy goes bringing aliveness up from the Earth and down from the Sky putting it in and giving it out from the heart
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