- Even the US Supreme Court has
said
that there will be
cases where life
is appropriate for juveniles.
[music playing]
DONNA MURRAY: Kristel was
thrown out of her house.
She needed a place to stay.
She couldn't stay at
Ron's house because you
can't have a girl
living in your house,
not when you're a teenager.
So he didn't really
know what to do.
So he got a job to try
to help her find a place
that he could pay the rent.
I think, at the
time, Ron thought
he was doing the right thing.
But he's a kid, and he's
still going to school.
And to try to go to school,
and deal with your home life,
and have a job and take
care of your girlfriend,
I think all of these factors
were very overwhelming for him.
The testimony was
that Cordell Richards
sexually propositioned Kristel.
She alleged that he
had forcibly tried
to approach her at some point.
When she refused, pushed
her against a wall
and supposedly bruised her back.
Kristel told Ron
what had happened,
and he was angered by it.
MAN: I think his
relationship with Kristel
was basically want
to protect her.
CLIFTON DRAKE: Ronald
Bell put Cordell
Richards into a chokehold.
ROBERT ELMORE: Cordell
Richards lost consciousness.
STAN GRIGGS: They
rolled him into a rug,
put him in the
back of their car.
They took him to a remote
area, tied his hands,
chained him to a tree,
and took turns hitting
him with a baseball bat.
ROBERT ELMORE: Both girls
beat him with the bat.
And Ron took the bat and pointed
the bat to this guy and said--
Look at me.
I'm Babe Ruth.
--and then struck
Cordell as hard as he could
several times in the head.
We have blows to the
sides of the body, the back.
The shoulder blades
just shattered.
Extensive fracture.
He was brutalized.
ROBERT ELMORE: They beat
him almost to death.
And then, according to Renee,
Kristel said, you know,
let's burn him.
He begged them not to kill him.
STAN GRIGGS: They
burned him alive.
ROBERT ELMORE: And
then they left him.
FAY SEKETA: The trial
lasted for three days.
The boy was 17.
The middle girl was 16.
And the youngest girl was 15.
And I think to have young
people involved in a crime
like this is just--
we just didn't understand that.
When the trial was over,
Kristel Maestas received
a life sentence without parole.
ROBERT ELMORE: We decided
to offer Renee Lincks
a plea to a lesser crime.
CLIFTON DRAKE: Ronald
Bell was 17 years old
and 10 months at the time he
deliberately chose to torture
and murder Cordell Richards.
Originally, a jury
unanimously recommended
that Ronald Bell be
executed because of how
horrific this murder was.
[music playing]
A few years ago, the US
Supreme Court determined
that juveniles cannot be
sentenced to a mandatory
life imprisonment.
We now have to have this
new sentencing hearing.
And so the victim's
family relives this,
and it takes a toll on them.
[music playing]
The judge could, if
he chose, sentence
Ronald Bell to 18 years
in prison, meaning
Ronald Bell would be released.
The argument from the defense
is that his brain was not
developed to the point
where he was really thinking
the way an adult would.
He knew the difference
between right and wrong.
He made horrible,
horrible decisions.
But make no mistake,
they were decisions.
STAN GRIGGS: He was kind of
influenced by Kristel Maestas.
Men always do
stuff they wouldn't
ordinarily do because of women.
Kristel was in an
Air Force family.
Dad's away a lot.
Mom's handling the kids.
When they were together, I
would consider it businesslike.
I didn't see any affection.
DONALD WITMYER: When you look
at Ron's history in prison,
this behavior from age 17
isn't carrying through.
I mean, not even a fight.
What I want to
show at the hearing
is that Ron is redeemable,
that his father was a pastor,
and so Ron was exposed to
that morality side of life.
Ronald Bell, he
made choice after
choice in that two-day period.
The entire process
took extensive planning
and showed
goal-oriented decisions.
This is the man who ended
Cordell Richard's life.
Judge, this defendant deserves
a sentence of life imprisonment.
Having reviewed and
carefully considered
all the relevant
factors, the court
finds on count one
first degree murder
with a deadly weapon a sentence
of life is appropriate.
Therefore, the court
sentences you, Ronald Bell,
to life imprisonment for the
murder of Cordell Richards.
Thank you.
Make no mistake.
Kristel Maestas was very
much involved in this.
She was participating,
contributing, giving ideas.
She suggested
lighting him on fire.
She's not an innocent bystander.
Yes, ma'am.
KELLY RICHARDS: Would
you like to do that now?
Yes, ma'am.
I realize I'm probably the
last person you'd like to be
hearing from, and I
can't blame you. (CRYING)
I want you to know
how sorry and ashamed
I am in causing you such pain.
I'm wanting you to have
some sort of peace,
and I know you haven't.
I'm so sorry for everything
you went through.
MAN: [inaudible]
ATTORNEY: Cordell
Richards, he was beaten.
He was dragged in the
middle of the woods.
He was set on fire.
I think when the court considers
the heinousness of this crime,
this all screams for a
continued sentence of life
without the
possibility of parole.
The court has considered
the evidence relating
to the offenses, the
defendant's youth
and attendant circumstances.
After carefully considering the
record, the testimony evidence,
and the arguments from the
defense and the state presented
[inaudible],, the court finds on
count one first degree murder
with a deadly weapon, a
sentence of life is appropriate.
Therefore, the court sentences
you, Kristel Maestas,
to life imprisonment for the
murder of Cordell Richards.
KELLY RICHARDS: Thank you.
WILLIAM STONE: Thank you.
