Following Tuesday’s sentencing of Colt Gray to life in prison without parole for the 2024 Apalachee High School shooting, the prosecutor and defense attorney presented sharply different opinions on the sentence.
District Attorney Brad Smith said he was satisfied with the outcome and pointed to Gray’s involvement in an online “True Crime Community.” Smith called that a dangerous subculture of extremist groups that encourages violence.
Smith noted Gray’s actions were deliberate and aimed at gaining infamy among other mass shooters. He cited evidence including jail calls with Gray’s mother, in which Gray compared himself to those who committed other school mass shootings.
But Defense Attorney W. Charlton Allen told reporters the sentence was too severe for a teenager and noted he had urged the judge to consider his client’s age, mental health struggles and difficult home life.
Allen had argued Gray suffered from severe mental illness and was not fully in control at the time of the shooting and had sought life with the possibility of parole, saying Gray could still positively contribute to society. Allen also noted testimony from Gray’s grandmother, who said he had changed while in custody.
Tuesday’s court proceedings closed one chapter in the Apalachee case. Still to come on Thursday: the sentencing of Gray’s father who was convicted earlier this year for providing his son with the gun used in the shooting.