Should Club Q shooter have received the death penalty? DA says yes
Club Q shooter Anderson Aldrich was sentenced to 2,000-plus years in prison after pleading guilty to more than 50 charges Monday, DA says sentence is longest ever achieved in district
In a post-trial press conference on Monday, 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen joined several city leaders and public safety officials in praising the heroism shown during the Club Q shooting, as well as the law enforcement and prosecutorial efforts that led to Anderson Aldrich pleading guilty to more than 51 charges and being sentenced to five life sentences plus more than 2,000 years in prison, with no possibility of parole or appeal.
But with an emotional and arduous trial behind him, and with Aldrich unlikely to ever leave prison alive, Allen also had some strong words for the Club Q assailant as well as Colorado laws that prevented his office from pursuing the death penalty.
“Today marks an important step in the recovery journey of the victims and family members of the Club Q shooting,” Allen said.
“Five consecutive life sentences – one life sentence for each murder victim …plus 48 years for each person the defendant in this case attempted to murder that night, running consecutively, totaling 2,208 years on top of those five consecutive life sentences. That is the longest sentence ever achieved in the 4th Judicial District.”
Allen highlighted the bravery of Thomas James, Richard Fierro, and Drea Norman in subduing Aldrich and helping to prevent a catastrophic situation from becoming much worse.
“The combined heroics of these three individuals undoubtedly saved, as I said, countless lives,” Allen said.
The District Attorney then expressed frustration at his office’s inability to pursue a death sentence for Aldrich. Capital punishment was abolished in Colorado in 2020.
“Cases like this are why the death penalty should exist in the state of Colorado,” Allen said. “The victims in this case deserve the ultimate punishment that the law can provide, and they were robbed of that by changes in the law just a few short years ago.”
Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said Monday’s sentencing was a necessary step toward healing for the Club Q victims and survivors, their families, and the LGBTQ+ community.
“Words can’t help those who were injured heal faster. They can’t remove the trauma suffered by so many in the club and in the LGBTQ+ community,” Vasquez said. “What I hope today does is remind everyone that you are not alone. Every member of the police department stands by you today, tomorrow, and in the future.”
Vasquez added that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has requested that the police department not release any documents, evidence or video until the federal judicial process has concluded.
Mark Michalek, special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Denver, confirmed that his agency has opened an investigation into the Club Q attack, but declined to specify possible charges or penalties being sought.
Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade thanked the DA’s office, CSPD, the FBI, and first responders for their combined efforts, beginning the night of the attack and leading up to Monday’s disposition of the case.
“Justice may have been served in the legal sense,” Mobolade said. “However, the fight for justice and healing must continue.”
Former Mayor John Suthers, who was in office at the time of the attack, commended the Colorado Springs community for responding to the Club Q attack with dignity and compassion.
“Our community is defined by our response to this incident and not by the acts of an evildoer,” Suthers said. “And I am confident, at this point in time, that history will judge it just so.”
“This was done right, and I, based on my experience, can assure our community and the victims of this crime that the disposition reached today, in light of the state of the law in Colorado – without a death penalty – this is the best possible disposition that could have taken place. Justice was achieved to the maximum degree allowed under the laws of the state of Colorado.”
Asked for his assessment of the case, Allen did not mince words when speaking about the Club Q shooter.
“He’s a coward,” Allen said. “Any time you go into any establishment … knowing that the people inside cannot effectively counter the firepower that you’re bringing in … that is the epitome of being a coward.”
Allen notably eschewed the use of they/them pronouns when referring to Aldrich, who has claimed to be nonbinary.
“There was zero evidence, prior to the shooting, that he was nonbinary,” he said. “He exhibited extreme hatred for people in the LGBTQ+ community – and for other minority groups as well.”
Mobolade stressed that the city will do what it can to help the LGBTQ+ community to continue to heal moving forward.
“In the darkest of times, we choose to find the light as best we can,” the mayor said. “In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., ‘Only when it’s dark enough can you see the stars.’”
District Attorney Michael Allen, center, answers questions during Monday’s post-trial press conference.
Sabrina and Jeff Aston, the parents of Daniel Aston, are given a hug of support at Centennial Hall after the sentencing of the Club Q shooter and press conference on Monday, June 26, 2023. Aston was killed in the Club Q shootings last November. The Astons are from Tulsa. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
Michael Anderson, Club Q survivor, and his mom, Tammy Freeman, share a phone, outside the El Paso County Courthouse after the sentencing of the Club Q shooter on Monday, June 26, 2023. Freeman came from Florida to support her son. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
Ashtin Gamblin (left) was shot nine times by the Club Q shooter last November. Her mother, Cheryl Norton, gives her support while she speaks at a press conference following the sentencing of the shooter on Monday, June 26, 2023. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett)
Wyatt Kent, a survivor of the Club Q shootings, gets a hug from others who were impacted by the shootings outside the El Paso County Courthouse after Club Q shooter Anderson Aldridge took a plea deal and received 5 life sentences on Monday, June 26, 2023. Kent lost his boyfriend, Daniel Aston, in the shootings. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
The family of Raymond Green Vance, including his mother, Adriana Vance, little brother, Marcus Vance and grandfather, Ron Bell, (right to left) listen to a press conference at Centennial Hall after the sentencing of the Club Q shooter on Monday, June 26, 2023. Vance was killed in the Club Q shootings last November. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
Mayor Remi Mobolade gives a hug to Adriana Vance, the mother of Raymond Green Vance after press conference at Centennial Hall that was held after the sentencing of the Club Q shooter on Monday, June 26, 2023. Vance was killed in the Club Q shootings last November. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
Wyatt Kent, a survivor of the Club Q shootings, was hugging others who were impacted by the shootings outside the El Paso County Courthouse after Club Q shooter Anderson Aldridge took a plea deal and received 5 life sentences on Monday, June 26, 2023. Kent lost his boyfriend, Daniel Aston, in the shootings. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
Sabrina and Jeff Aston, the parents of Daniel Aston, are given words of support at Centennial Hall after the sentencing of the Club Q shooter on Monday, June 26, 2023. Aston was killed in the Club Q shootings last November. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)