‘The man who committed those crimes won’t be hurting anyone else’: UVA shooting survivor says some justice served
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WRIC) -- Five life sentences. That's how long the man who killed three University of Virginia football players was sentenced to on Friday, Nov. 21 -- but survivor Michael Hollins said it won't bring his friends back.
On Nov. 13, 2022, 27 UVA students headed to Washington, D.C. by bus, leaving campus a little before lunchtime. They were going to see a play for a class.
As the students were arriving back on campus, Jones shot and killed 22-year-old D’Sean Perry of Miami, Florida, 20-year-old Devin Chandler of Virginia Beach and 20-year-old Lavel Davis Jr. of Ridgeville, South Carolina.
Hollins, also a UVA football player at the time, and Marlee Morgan, a student, were wounded.
Left, Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D'Sean Perry. (University of Virginia Athletics via AP, File)
8News spoke to Hollins on the fifth and final day of sentencing hearings for Jones to ask what he thought of the judge's decision to give Jones five consecutive life sentences.
“Justice has been served for the most part, even though that no amount of time on this earth in jail will repay or get those lives back," Hollins said after sentencing.
In closing arguments Friday afternoon, Jones's defense said he was "mentally ill and not full of evil intent" when he opened fire. Throughout the week, the defense called witnesses to testify to Jones's traumatic childhood and the delusional state of mind he was in at the time of the shooting. They asked the judge to give him 40 years.
The Commonwealth insisted this was not the freak psychotic episode the defense said. Instead, they argued he was calculated and that he'd targeted the three men.
In one of the most intense moments of the week, Jones spoke for the first time, sobbing as he apologized profusely for what he did. He said he knew he needed help, but did not seek it.
Several people left the courtroom as he spoke -- but Hollins stayed. He later told reporters he’d been looking for closure, but he didn’t say whether Jones’s words made any impact.
“Just a little bit of peace, knowing that the man who committed those crimes won't be hurting anyone else," he said.
Judge Cheryl Higgins deliberated for just under an hour. She said she felt Jones "executed" the victims and that he knew what he was doing was wrong.
On top of the five life sentences, Jones was given 23 years for gun-related charges.
You can find a full recap of each day of testimony here.
