Sep 12, 2008 11:31 am US/Pacific
Man Sentenced For Stomping Homeless Woman To Death
LOS ANGELES
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The death of the 49-year-old woman prompted City Councilwoman Jan Perry and police Chief William Bratton to urge the homeless to move into shelters for their own safety.
CBS
A parolee was sentenced Friday to 17 years to life in state prison for stomping a homeless woman to death on Los Angeles' Skid Row.
Gregory Hampton, 54, attacked Kristi Morales on the night of May 3, 2006, at Fifth and San Julian streets, steps away from a nonprofit shelter that had available beds. She died five days later.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Marcelita Haynes said Hampton's drunkenness that night clearly played a part in the attack.
"No one can tell us how this started," Haynes said. "Alcohol was a factor but not the (only) factor. The circumstances that put the defendant and the victim on the streets cannot be rectified by this or any other court or legislation."
Hampton's attorney, Terry Shenkman, said her client has no memory of the attack and expressed remorse for the woman's death.
"If not for alcohol, this tragedy would not have happened," Shenkman told the judge.
The death of the 49-year-old woman prompted City Councilwoman Jan Perry and police Chief William Bratton to urge the homeless to move into shelters for their own safety.
The city of Los Angeles has more than 40,000 homeless people, according to statistics released last year by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
Hampton, who has an extensive criminal record dating back to 1970, was arrested by the LAPD's 77th Street Division on a parole violation less than two months before the murder.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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