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Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James gets 10 concurrent life sentences

Samantha Max

Published Oct 5, 2023

Modified Oct 5, 2023

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Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

Samantha Max

Published Oct 5, 2023

Modified Oct 5, 2023

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The man who shot 10 people on a Brooklyn N train last year apologized to his victims, then lambasted the city’s mental health system on Thursday before a federal judge sentenced him to 10 concurrent life sentences plus an additional 10 years in prison.

In a nearly 20-minute speech before his sentencing, Frank Robert James, 64, called the shooting a “cowardly act.” But he also said he had been subjected to “thousands of cowardly acts” while seeking treatment for mental illness.

“I’m not a person known to resort to violence,” he said. “So how did I get here?”

James pleaded guilty to federal terrorism and gun charges earlier this year for firing a volley of bullets into a crowded N train as it made its way through Sunset Park during morning rush hour in April 2022. Prosecutors asked for James to be sentenced to life in prison plus an additional 10 years, because they say he planned the attack, intended to kill people and did not take responsibility for his actions.

“The fact that no one was killed by the defendant’s 32 gunshots can only be described as luck as opposed to the defendant’s intentional choice,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara Winik and Ellen Sise wrote in a pre-sentencing letter to Judge William F. Kuntz II.

The U.S. attorney’s office claimed that James spent years “meticulously” planning the shooting, citing payments dating as far back as 2017 for supplies they believe he used in the attack, including smoke bombs and ammunition. The letter also quoted YouTube videos he posted, in which he threatened violence and said “there’s too many beings on this earth.”

In the months before the shooting, prosecutors said, James spent hours doing “practice runs” on the subway and conducted internet searches about buying a gun. They also said James took deliberate steps that made it easier to shoot a large group of people, such as telling straphangers that the seats near him were wet so they would congregate at the end of the car.

After the shooting, according to prosecutors, James fled the scene and changed his outfit to avoid detection. They said he rode the subway during the day and spent the night in the Newark train station. While hiding from police, prosecutors said, James watched dozens of news reports about the shooting on his phone. They said he also watched a chase scene from a James Bond movie 10 times.

When James agreed to a plea deal, the U.S. attorney’s office recommended a sentence of about 32 to 37 years if he accepted responsibility for the harm he had caused. But at the sentencing hearing, prosecutors said James failed to fully accept responsibility. They accused him of lying during the plea hearing when he said he did not intend to kill people. The judge agreed.

James’ attorney, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, said in a pre-sentencing memo that the shooting was a cry for help after years of failed attempts at mental health treatment and asked the judge to sentence James to 18 years. She said her client is unlikely to survive even that long in prison, given his age and health.

“Mr. James is not evil. He is very, very ill,” she wrote. “A just sentence in this case tempers the natural urge for retribution with mercy.”

Eisner-Grynberg said James, a Bronx native, has been diagnosed with chronic paranoid schizophrenia and spent much of his life in clinics, hospitals and homeless shelters. She said he was socially isolated and obsessed with conspiracy theories.

In court, Eisner-Grynberg called her client’s actions “appalling.” But she said James is not the only one responsible for the subway shooting. She also blamed the systems that failed him and so many others who seek mental health care.

“None of us should be here today, because we should have answered Mr. James’ calls for help a long time ago,” she said.

Subway riders describe fear, lingering trauma

Several people who were in the subway car with James when he opened fire spoke during the sentencing hearing, which lasted more than three hours.

They described the overwhelming fog of smoke that made their lungs burn, the sound of pops that many first thought were fireworks before realizing they were gunshots, and the feeling of bodies piled against one another as they tried to dodge the bullets. They recounted the sounds of banging on the glass as they tried to open the car door, which was locked, as well as their feelings of fear and frustration as they waited for the train to move while it was stuck between stops.

Some said they’re haunted by nightmares and take sleeping pills to make it through the night. Others said they no longer take the subway unless they have to, and described experiencing panic attacks and feeling like they need to run when they ride the train.

As the victims spoke, James looked down. While several speakers addressed him, he never met their eyes.

Prosecutors read a letter written by a college student who withdrew from school after he was shot three times and underwent two surgeries.

“Every morning when I wake up, I have to remind myself that the shooter won’t be able to hurt me today,” he wrote in a letter. “If I don’t tell myself that, I simply can’t get out of bed.”

He said he can no longer run or walk down the stairs. He’s withdrawn from his friends and is worried about his academic and professional future.

“I so desperately want my life back, the life I had before you took it away,” he wrote.

One victim who said he now has post-traumatic stress disorder forgave James. Then he broke down crying.

“I can’t do this,” he muttered through tears before being escorted from the courtroom.

Another person who was on the subway told the court that he started drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana after the shooting to cope with the trauma. He later entered trauma and addiction treatment.

The man said he prays to God that James gets the help he needs.

“I found help,” he said. “Why couldn’t you, Mr. James?”

Tagged

public safety

brooklyn

Samantha Max

Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.

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