A San Francisco judge ordered the man who fatally assaulted an 84-year-old Thai grandfather in 2021, sparking widespread fears for the safety of older people as well as galvanizing the Stop Asian Hate movement, to be released on probation.
Judge Linda Colfax sentenced Antoine Watson, 25, to an eight-year sentence. He’s already served about five years of the term in county jail, and the remainder will be suspended if he adheres to the terms of probation. That means Watson could return to his mother’s Hayward home as early as Thursday.
The sentencing follows a trial that concluded in January in which a jury convicted Watson, who was 19 at the time of the attack, of involuntary manslaughter and assault and acquitted him of murder of Vicha Ratanapakdee.
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The judge said that she thought imprisonment would likely have a “poor impact” on Watson, that he’s expressed remorse, that the jury found that Watson was not a danger to society and that he’d be better rehabilitated through probation. “My goal is to do everything within my very limited powers to protect our community from any future violent acts by Mr. Watson,” she added.
Ratanapakdee died two days after he was assaulted on Jan. 28, 2021, while taking a morning walk in his neighborhood. A viral video captured on a neighbor’s surveillance camera of the incident spurred outrage and widespread activism at a time when violence against Asian Americans had increased due to COVID-19-related racism.
During the monthlong trial, Watson’s public defenders argued that he did not intend to kill Ratanapakdee but that it was “an impulsive act during an emotional storm.” They also said Watson did not know Ratanapakdee was old or Asian.
The prosecution argued that Watson should have known that tackling Ratanapakdee at full speed was dangerous.
Both the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and the Ratanapakdee family had asked for the maximum sentence of nine years to be imposed and served in state prison.
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