Agency Report
A white woman in Florida who fatally shot a Black neighbor who confronted her amid a longstanding dispute over the neighbor’s children was sentenced on Monday to 25 years in prison.
In a case that prompted national outrage and reignited debate around “stand your ground” laws, Susan Lorincz, 60, shot Ajike (A.J.) Owens as Ms. Owens, 35, stood outside the door of Ms. Lorincz’s home in Ocala, a city about 80 miles northwest of Orlando, in June last year.
Ms. Lorincz, who was convicted of manslaughter by an all-white jury in August, had faced a maximum sentence of 30 years.
At the sentencing hearing on Monday, in Ocala, Fla., the victim’s mother, Pamela Dias, spoke of her four grandchildren. “Susan took away their vibrant, young mother,” she said, reading from an impact statement.
“Susan Lorincz shot their mother through a locked metal door.”
Ms. Lorincz, who had not testified during her trial, stood after several witnesses spoke in her defense. Wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit, she spoke at length of her health issues, including a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder linked to childhood sex abuse.
Then she apologized to Ms. Owens’s family.
“I am so sorry I took A.J.’s life. I never intended to kill her,” she said. “I could not understand why she was so angry.”
Her voice breaking, she said, “I so wish I could go back and change things so she was still here. I would trade my life.”
The two neighbors had repeated confrontations over Ms. Owens’s children, who would play in a grassy area near Ms. Lorincz’s home along with other neighborhood children from the housing complex, the authorities said.
On June 2, 2023, Ms. Owens went to Ms. Lorincz’s door to confront her after Ms. Lorincz shouted at her children and threw things at them, the police said. Ms. Lorincz fired a handgun through the door, striking Ms. Owens, who was not armed, in the chest.
Ms. Lorincz’s lawyer, Amanda Sizemore, a public defender, had asked the court for a lenient sentence, invoking Ms. Lorincz’s mental illness and saying that her client was “substantially impaired” at the time of the crime. She also said that she had acted under duress.
Owens’ family had sought the maximum prison sentence. Before handing down the shorter sentence, Circuit Judge Robert Hodges said that he had taken under consideration the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and the fact Ms. Lorincz did not have a criminal record before she shot Ms. Owens.
However, he said, those factors were outweighed by the impact the shooting had on the victim and her family, as well as the aggravated nature of the offense.
“I find the shooting was completely unnecessary,” Judge Hodges said, noting that the door was closed and locked and that Ms. Lorincz knew that law enforcement was en route to her home. “At the time she fired the gun through the door, she was safe,” he said.
Ms. Owens was a single mother of four who worked as a manager in the restaurant and hospitality industry, according to a crowdfunding page set up by her family after her death.
Ms. Lorincz had worked for an insurance company. When she was younger, she had been a singer in New York, she said on Monday.
The case garnered national attention after a delay in arresting Ms. Lorincz, as a result of Florida’s “stand your ground” self-protection law.
It again prompted an outcry when prosecutors decided to charge Ms. Lorincz with manslaughter rather than second-degree murder.
Ms. Owens’s family, activists and lawyers, including Ben Crump, a civil rights lawyer who has played a prominent role in the Black Lives Matter movement, had sought the more serious charge.
On the day of the shooting, Ms. Lorincz shouted at the children and threw an umbrella and roller skates at them, according to the authorities.
During the trial, the defense said that Ms. Owens grew enraged after hearing what had happened, and that she threatened to kill Ms. Lorincz when she appeared at her door. In recordings shared during the trial, Ms. Lorincz told detectives she had feared for her life.
A neighbor testified to hearing loud pounding and shouting, though she said she could not make out what was being said. She called 911 after hearing a loud pop.
Both the prosecution and the defense pointed to the escalating nature of the feud. Before the shooting, Ms. Lorincz had snapped at the children, prosecutors said. Ms. Owens had thrown a no-trespassing sign at Ms. Lorincz.
In an affidavit after Ms. Lorincz’s arrest, a detective said Ms. Lorincz said she had repeatedly complained about the children and admitted to addressing them with racial slurs. She vehemently denied having made derogatory remarks when she spoke at Monday’s sentencing.
“This is not about race,” she said.
At the hearing, Ms. Lorincz’s sister painted a startling picture of Ms. Lorincz’s childhood and early life. Their father, a concentration camp survivor, had raped and beaten Ms. Lorincz starting when she was four years old.
The psychologist called by the defense, Dr. Yenys Castillo, said Ms. Lorincz had experienced chronic post-traumatic stress throughout her life. Her behavior during the confrontation with Ms. Owens was consistent with the disorder, Dr. Castillo said.
She was not psychotic, Dr. Castillo said, “but there is a way that P.T.S.D. can override, or overwhelm your ability to consider options.”
The case renewed debate about “stand your ground” laws, which exist in about 30 states and offer legal protections for people who have said they feared for their safety when they used deadly force.
During the trial, Ms. Lorincz’s lawyer focused on that defense, reminding jurors that under Florida law, citizens have the right to defend themselves. “She has no duty to retreat, and she can stand her ground when she is in her dwelling if she is faced with imminent danger,” Ms. Sizemore said of her client.
The prosecution maintained there was no imminent threat to her life.
Florida’s “stand your ground” law drew national attention when the police cited it as the reason they did not arrest George Zimmerman in the 2012 fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teen. Mr. Zimmerman was later charged, but acquitted the following year, prompting demonstrations.