Haq Receives Life Sentence

Naveed Haq finally received the justice he deserved: a life sentence without parole for the shooting death of Pamela Waechter, the severe injuring of five others and the hate crime committed against the Jewish people.

The sentencing hearing was emotional as victims and the defense made statements to the court. During the moving and personal remembrances of Pam, her love of life came shining through. “Just do the right thing” was a phrase both Pam’s daughter Nicki Waechter and Cantor David Serkin Poole recounted as a message often repeated by Pam.

Others had strong messages for Haq. “I choose to help the world, not hurt it. I choose to be useful…not used,” expressed Cheryl Stumbo strongly. Richard Fruchter, speaking on behalf of our Jewish community, eloquently recounted, “You could not extinguish [the victim’s] light, nor the light of the Jewish people—a light unto the nations.”

The defense attorneys, Haq’s father and even Haq himself also spoke in court. Even with Haq’s comment, “I apologize from the depth of my being,” Judge Paris Kallas brought the focus back to the “graceful” victims. After a poignant comment about each woman—Carol Goldman, Christina Rexroad, Layla Bush, Cheryl Stumbo and Dayna Klein— Judge Kallas handed down a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murder of Waechter and the maximum sentences for each additional count.

Thank you to Judge Kallas, prosecutors Erin Ehlert and Don Raz, and everyone involved in the justice system for their hard work in this case, including the jurors, many of whom were present at the sentencing hearing by their own choice.

This brings a strong, meaningful and long-awaited conclusion to the trial and to this chapter for the Jewish Federation.