Paul Pelosi’s attacker is resentenced to 30 years in prison

The man who attacked former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) husband in his home was resentenced to 30 years in prison Tuesday after an unusual second attempt at the hearing following a miscarriage of justice.

David DePape was initially sentenced in May to 20 years in prison for the attempted kidnapping of Speaker Pelosi in October 2022 and 30 years for the attempted murder of her husband, Paul Pelosi, to be served concurrently.

Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley did not allow DePape to speak before the hearing in order to mitigate his sentence, an error that forced Corley to hold a second sentencing hearing on Tuesday.

Paul Pelosi barely survived the attack, during which he was hit several times in the head with a hammer. DePape initially planned to kidnap the then-House speaker even though she was not home.

DePape apologized Tuesday, but Corley gave him the same 30-year sentence.

“I’m sorry for what I did,” he said, adding that he felt terrible and never intended to hurt Pelosi and that he should have left the house when he realized the former president wasn’t there.

DePape attributed the violence to a poor mental state and said he has since reconnected with his family and improved mentally.

Corley said the sentence needed to act as a reprieve against future political violence.

“The message has to get out that this is absolutely unacceptable for our democracy,” she said.

DePape’s attorneys argued against bringing the defendant back to court, claiming the process could interfere with his trial in the state of California. He faces charges of attempted murder, elder abuse, residential burglary and other crimes. Opening statements in that trial are scheduled to begin Wednesday.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story