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US: On Monday, a man found guilty of opening fire during a wedding inside a New Hampshire church, hurting both the bride and the bishop, was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. During the sentence hearing, prosecutor Seth Dobieski stated that Dale Holloway, 41, “turned a marriage into mayhem.”
“The wounds of Mr. Holloway’s victims, they might fade with time. But the mental anguish and emotional pain he caused them is never going to go away,” Dobieski said.
Mentally unstable accused
Absent from Monday’s hearing, Holloway represented himself during the trial, claiming that he was suffering from mental instability at the time of the October 2019 shooting at the New England Pentecostal Ministries in Pelham. In November, a jury rejected his claim of insanity and declared him guilty. For striking his attorney, Holloway has already been sentenced to 7 1/2 to 15 years in state prison.
The church minister who was Holloway’s stepfather was shot and killed by the groom’s son over two weeks prior to the shooting. Later on, the son received a prison sentence. Prosecutors stated that Holloway believed the pastor’s separate celebration of life ceremony, which was scheduled for later that day at the Pelham church, to be disrespectful.
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Victim had to give up career of 30 years
Holloway attempted to provide proof that he had experienced a mental illness. To help the jurors understand his mental condition, he played some of his own rap songs. Additionally, in his testimony, psychologists expressed their belief that he was experiencing mental health problems. However, they added that they believed he had a propensity to exaggerate his symptoms.
The bishop, Stanley Choate, was shot in the chest. Claire McMullen, the bride, took a bullet to the arm. Despite their survival, both admitted to the judge on Monday that they still had health issues. According to McMullen, she was forced to give up her more than 30-year career.
