MANTEO, N.C. — A judge said, "May God have mercy on your soul" Monday after the judge agreed with a jury's decision that Mikel Brady should be put to death.
Update as of 10/28/2019:
Jurors came back with their recommendation of death after they heard closing arguments in the sentencing phase of Brady's trial on October 28. Prosecutors said that Brady thought of his victims as nothing more than obstacles. "They were not human beings. They were obstacles," District Attorney Andrew Womble said.
Just last week, Brady gave hours upon hours of testimony. He claimed he didn't want to hurt Veronica Darden, one of the prison workers killed in the riot.
Brady's defense attorney discussed Brady's childhood and upbringing as well as his supervision during his stay at Pasquotank prison as a part of his closing arguments.
"Mikel Brady was developmentally challenged from a young age," Defense Attorney Thomas Manning said. "He doesn't process the values of right or wrong because he is mentally ill."
Updates as of 10/22/2018 - 10/25/2018:
Brady took the stand Tuesday and Wednesday to testify before his sentencing. Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Pellini grilled him for three hours on Wednesday. He admitted that he thought the plan to escape was "possible" and started planning as soon as he was convicted of murder after shooting a North Carolina State Trooper five times.
Brady claims he started planning all alone, then began conversing with Johnathan Monk about an escape. He ended up inviting two more inmates into the planning phase and said the attack took about three months to plan.
He admitted to making backpacks for each of the inmates involved in the attack and filled them with tools from the sewing plant.
Brady said he thought about calling off the attack because he didn't want to hurt Veronica Darden, one of the prison workers who was killed in the riot but ended up going through with the plan anyway. Brady said, “She was a great woman. I am not taking that away from her. Jasmine described it perfectly, she was a very good woman.”
“God has pretty much convinced me that I’m supposed to be incarcerated," Brady said.
When Brady was on the stand, he spoke of his childhood and his mother testified, explaining that he came from an abusive home. He said he went to counseling for some time after his father was murdered and began using cocaine at 18.
The sentencing phase could take days to complete. Prosecutors say that after the attacks, Brady attempted to hurt other correctional officers while he was in custody and set fire to his cell at Central Prison.
Click here to read the entire Twitter thread filled with more details and statements from Mikel Brady's testimony. The sentencing phase could take several days.
The four prison workers who were killed in the incident were Justin Smith, Veronica Darden, Wendy Shannon, and Geoffrey Howe.
The other three inmates who face the same murder charges as Brady are still waiting for their day in court. Wisezah D. Buckman, Seth J. Frazier, and Jonathan M. Monk were all charged with first-degree murder and are currently in jail awaiting their trial dates.
