>> Do you swear affirm that the evidence you’re about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? >> I do.

>> It’s the moment Christopher Sutton has been waiting for.

>> I think anyone who is innocent or wrongfully accused would would want to get up there and speak their mind.

It’s my word against Garrett’s word.

It’s what it all boils down to.

>> He paints Garrick Cop as an insatiable drug fiend.

>> Constant constant drug habit.

I mean, I did drugs all day.

>> Christopher claims Garrett broke into his parents’ home in a desperate bid to steal marijuana.

All day long, a hopped up Garrett had been calling him for drugs.

>> I I kind of told him, “No, no, no, no.

” Christopher says he kept drugs boxed up in the closet of his old bedroom where his mother often slept and Garrett knew it.

>> How much marijuana did you store in these boxes? In the top box about 2 lb.

And what was the value of that? >> 7,000 bucks.

>> Once inside, Christopher claims Garrett panicked when he saw John and Susan awake and shot them.

Is it possible that this was a robbery gone bad? >> No.

No.

>> It was an assassination.

>> But Christopher says he had no reason to want his parents dead.

He got over his anger about being sent to Samoa long ago.

>> When I more matured, I realized it wasn’t something they did to me maliciously.

They did what they thought was in my best interest.

>> He even tells the jury Paradise Cove turned out to be good for him.

You benefited from the program? >> Yes.

>> But then in an unexpected moment, he becomes highly emotional when discussing his alleged mistreatment there.

>> How were you feeling physically during that time? >> I was what I was what they called in denial.

>> You need a break? >> Yeah.

Ladies and gentlemen, >> Christopher’s surprising breakdown on the stand is evidence.

Prosecutors say that he’s still haunted by his experience.

>> His only emotional reaction was about himself.

Was not about what had happened to his parents.

Hopefully that made an impact on the jury.

>> Not a tear for his mother.

Not a tear.

>> Every one of those bullets was Christopher saying to his parents, “I hate you.

I hate you.

I hate you.

You owe me.

>> He’s greedy and he’s lazy and he believes that he’s entitled.

>> Is there enough evidence in this case to convict my client of this crime? And the answer is no.

Because what is the evidence? Forced statements.

Cop statement is a total lie.

He’s the killer.

It’s now up to the jury.

>> All right, everyone.

Uh we understand the uh jury has reached a verdict.

>> After a day and a half of deliberations, >> we the jury find the defendant Christopher Patrick Sutton guilty of first-degree murder is charged.

>> You were stunned at the verdict.

>> Absolutely.

I definitely thought I was going to be acquitted.

>> Before sentencing, an emotional John Sutton addresses the court.

>> Regardless of the result, this is a bad case.

I lost Susan.

I lost Christopher long before that.

I lost my eyesight.

>> He doesn’t ask for leniency.

A few feet away, another father sat grieving his loss.

Garrett’s dad, Mitchell.

And you question yourself as to you’re a father of a murderer.

I thought I taught him right from wrong.

I’m just sorry it happened to the hands of my son.

Christopher is sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

His sister Melissa says she’ll never speak to him again.

>> You know, my parents were the best parents and the fact that one child said something awful does not mean that they didn’t like love him unconditionally.

They did everything they could to give him every opportunity that he deserved and and he just didn’t take advantage of it.

But the whole trial kind of opened the wound back up.

you know, the loss of my mom, the blindness of my dad, and the loss of my brother.

>> Do you think about your family >> all the time? Absolutely.

Yeah.

>> I remember all the good times.

I remember all the bad times, too.

I mean, like, it hurts me to to to hear them, you know, think that I had anything to do with this.

It’s It’s unfortunate.

>> As for their father, John’s focus right now is getting his eyesight back.

At Scapens’s Eye Research Institute in Massachusetts, work on optic nerve regeneration is promising.

>> Put your chin down a little more.

>> And at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

>> Here we go.

And I’m looking right at your optic nerve.

>> Dr.

Joseph Rizzo is ready to start discussing electronic technology implanting a device around the back of the eye.

>> Our job is to try to make you as functional as you can be.

While he waits for a breakthrough, John Sutton remarkably continues to practice law.

He memorizes his briefs x t.

>> And with the help of an aid, he’s winning cases much like he used to.

And he has a new love interest.

The world of darkness he now lives in is slowly brightening with each passing day.

>> It’s really almost like I’m another person.

There’s so many changes in my life.

It would be completely understandable if you felt sorry for yourself sometimes.

Do you? >> Doesn’t do any good.

I don’t believe in feeling sorry for myself because then you’re just wallowing in disaster.

I just decided that I wasn’t going to sit around for the rest of my life and get bored.

So, I have done everything that I can possibly do without hesitation.

 

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