A Connecticut man who was attacked by three juveniles while at work will have to spend the next 18 months in jail after he stabbed one of his victims in self-defense.
“I was defending myself,” 21-year-old Jeffrey Sumpter insisted on Monday after he was sentenced for stabbing one of the youths in the leg last October, according to the CTPost.
Judge John Blawie told Sumpter that he understood his plight, but had to follow the law, convicting him of felony first-degree assault.
As CTPost notes, unlike Florida, which has a Stand Your Ground Law that worked for George Zimmerman but not for Marissa Alexander, Connecticut law requires Sumpter to retreat after he was being beaten up inside the Dunkin Donuts where he worked. Following the attack, Sumpter ran outside and stabbed one of his attackers.
Public defender Howard Ehring argued that the fact that a search on one of the juveniles, which unearthed shotgun shells, proved that they were hoping to hurt Sumpter, even though no shotgun was found.
Nonetheless, Sumpter will face punishment. Blawie told Sumpter that he hoped this would be Sumpter’s last sentence because now that he has been convicted of a felony first-degree assault, he will face much harsher judgment in the criminal justice system going forward.
Ain’t that some shit?
Sumpter will also be serving three years probation, during which he could be made to serve all or part of a three and a half year prison sentence if he breaks the law.