Dayton Chronicle - Your Hometown News Source

DAYTON–The Honorable M. Scott Wolfram, Superior Court Judge from Walla Walla, presided over the sentencing hearing for Benjamin Orozco, convicted last August of the July 7, 1996, shooting of Lance Terry in Dayton, which resulted in Terry's death.

Columbia County Prosecutor Dale Slack gave the State's recommendation that the sentence should be at the high end.

The sentencing was four consecutive sentences of: 192 months for Second Degree Murder, two separate 60-month sentences for Firearm Enhancement, and 123 months for First Degree Assault–a total of 435 months. Also added was a 12-month concurrent sentence for Second Degree Unlawful Possession of a Firearm. This would be followed by Community Supervision for 24 months.

Prosecutor Slack also stated that the Department of Corrections requested that as part of the Community Supervision, Orozco undergo Alcohol and Drug Evaluation and Treatment. Slack further added that the reason for the State requesting the high-end sentence range is based on the Terry family's desire for remorse.

Orozco started off reading a sorrowful statement of regret. Next, Attorney Jane Richards, from Asotin, Wash., read off factual inconsistencies such as a slanted Department of Corrections perception that everyone is guilty. She further added that Orozco felt he did not get a fair trial due to race, and due to observations of jury members seen napping during the trial, another jury member removing a hearing device, and other jury members seen hugging the family members of Lance Terry.

Attorney Richards supplemented her statement by comparing the twentyish-year-old Orozco to the 45-year-old man he is now by using a "The Shawshank Redemption" film quote where Ellis Boyd Redding (portrayed by Morgan Freeman), who is up for his final parole hearing, states, "There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel regret. Not because I'm in here or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then, a young stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try and talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are, but I can't. That kid is long gone and this old man is all that is left and I got to live with that."

She added that there isn't anything Orozco can say that will make the Terry family feel better. If there was a way to minimize the grief of the Terry family, Orozco would do it, she said.

Attorney Richards asserted that self-defense and feeling bad were not mutually exclusive; that one could live a life of honor to make up for what was done. Orozco still maintains it was self-defense. Attorney Richards pleaded for a sentence of mid-range based on the Orozco's age at the time of the crime (20s) and the (40ish) man he is now.

Next, defense co-counsel Rachel Cortez read some emails from Orozco's family members and friends. The emails painted Orozco as a responsible and hard-working dedicated family man who worked hard day and night so his family would always have enough clothing.

One of the emails was from Orozco's 17-year-old son, detailing how Orozco was detained when the son was 14 years old, and how traumatic it was for the son. An email from Orozco's daughter expressed how he worked day and night to provide for the family, and that he was intelligent.

Slack provided the reasons for the many delays in this trial. Then, he asked that Norma L. Terry, step-mother for Lance Terry, be allowed to read a statement. Terry was accompanied by her husband Ed Terry, father of Lance Terry. (Sue Gallatin, mother of Lance Terry, was unable to appear due to weather and road conditions.)

Terry tearfully stated that it was hard to have empathy for Orozco. She emphasized that her husband was having a hard time with Orozco's request for lesser time because Terry's own son is gone. She stressed that if they had seen some remorse from Orozco, such as being young and stupid, being on meth and booze...it would have been easier to forgive him.

She illustrated a story of celebrating Lance Terry's younger brother's birthday party on July 7, 1996, and getting the phone call about the shooting. Now every year, this brother's birthday will always be colored and marked by this event. She further added that Lance Terry's own son heard the gunshot that killed his daddy. She pointed out that now Orozco's children will be without their father.

Terry bravely concluded by saying, "With God's help we can forgive you. You are forgiven." She hoped that Orozco would go to heaven so that Lance Terry could have the opportunity to forgive Orozco.

Next, Lance Terry's sister, Bailee Walters, gave an emotional statement about visiting her father every Christmas and seeing her father get very short tempered without meaning to. She thought it was interesting that Orozco thinks he did not get a fair trial because of an atmosphere of race.

She pleaded with Orozco to reflect on life decisions that were made that put him where he is now, and to stop making excuses, and to take responsibility for his actions. She then philosophized about every decision one makes in life has an outcome.

Sometimes those choices have negative outcomes and there are consequences. One must take responsibility for those life choices and the outcomes. Walters stated she felt sorry for Orozco's family because they will have to go on without him. Even though he is serving some time, he will get to go back to them. Lance Terry will never come back to his family and his family will never see him until the Lord calls them home.

Slack emphasized that there is a difference between remorse and regret. Regret is: "I'm sorry I got caught." Remorse is: "I'm sorry that it happened." You can kill someone and still be sorry that it happened. However, during trial, "I'm sorry it happened" was not heard.

Slack further illustrated that although it was heard during trial that Orozco had a family and a life in Mexico, that life was stolen. It was stolen from Lance Terry and from his son. He should not have had that life. Instead, he should have been in this courtroom in 1996 facing justice then.

Any changes in his lifestyle or good conduct was for a life he had stolen for twenty years, preventing the Terry family from getting closure.