Man gets 11 life terms for causing California train crash
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 07:05:00 08/21/2008
Filed Under: Crime, Law & Justice
LOS ANGELES -- A man found guilty of murder for causing a Los Angeles train crash that left 11 people dead was on Wednesday sentenced to 11 life terms without the possibility of parole.
Juan Manuel Alvarez, 29, was convicted in June at Los Angeles Superior Court following a two-month trial. A jury weighing sentence last month recommended he be jailed for life rather than face the death sentence.
Judge William Pounders told Alvarez he would spend the rest of his life behind bars.
"You've forfeited your right to be a member of this society," Pounders added, saying Alvarez showed "no remorse to this court" during his trial.
Prosecutors said Alvarez had deliberately caused the accident on the Metrolink commuter line on January 26, 2005 to get attention.
Defense lawyers claimed however that Alvarez had parked his car on the tracks to commit suicide but was unable to remove it after he changed his mind at the last minute.
Alvarez's car was hit by a Los Angeles-bound train, which derailed and then ploughed into a train travelling in the opposite direction. As well as the 11 fatalities, more than 180 other people were injured.
During the sentencing phase of Alvarez's trial, the court heard emotional testimony from victims of the crash.
Henry Romero, whose 53-year-old uncle Leonard died in the derailment, told Alvarez he was a "mass murderer" who had "got off easy."
"I wish you the most miserable life possible," Romero said.
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