By Lillian Rizzo
Horace Moore, convicted of stabbing a bus driver to death, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison today. As Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Gustin Reichbach read the sentence, MTA workers held up Metrocard transfers, visibly enraged that Moore did not get life.
But Edley Thomas, the 19-year-old daughter of murder victim Edwin Thomas, left the courtroom after reading a speech with tear stained cheeks and talking of forgiveness.
“Every time I hear about it, it breaks me down,” she said after the sentencing. “But they gave him 20 years. To be honest I don’t wish that on anyone.”
On Dec. 1, 2008 Moore, 22, boarded Edwin’s B46 bus in Bedford Stuyvesant. Prosecutors said Moore didn’t pay for his ride and Edwin Thomas wouldn’t give him the transfer card he requested. After the two reportedly argued, Moore punched Thomas and ran off the bus. He was convicted of entering the bus a few moments later and fatally stabbing the driver.
“They made me seem like a monster. I am not,” Moore said before hearing his sentence. “I did pay my fare. It was a misunderstanding. I just want to tell the family I am sorry.”
Edley Thomas, in a grey dress and black cardigan, sat in a room full of men and women in MTA navy jackets and pants. One man wore a bright orange traffic vest. She was accompanied by, among other relatives, her brother, aunt and uncles.
She told the judge – and Moore – about her father’s death. “December 1st of 2008 was the worst day of my life,” she said. “I started a regular day of school when my phone rang and I learned of the stabbing.”
She admitted that at first she “really hated” Moore, but now feels sorry for him. She broke down when she spoke about her final year in high school and how her father won’t get to see her graduate next spring. Her brother, Jeffrey, was also supposed to speak but said he was too overwhelmed after his sister’s words to go do so.
After Edley’s speech, the sound of sniffling could be heard coming from the courtroom gallery. But those tears soon turned to anger when the judge announced he wouldn’t sentence Moore to life in prison, the maximum sentence. Reichbach said he didn’t believe Moore killed with intent and that he could have “potential for redemption” by the time he leaves prison in his 40s.
“We feel like we’ve been slapped in the face,” said Vincent Miles, a bus operator for 23 years. MTA workers left in tears and shouting words of anger, still holding up their transfer cards in front of flashing cameras.
Edley Thomas, meanwhile, left the courtroom, walking with her brother’s arm around her and after speaking to reporters, began smiling and talking quietly to him. She said after a lot of praying she learned to forgive Moore. “But that’s never going to bring my father back,” she said.
A senior at Bishop Ford High School in Park Slope, she said she hadn’t let her father’s death affect her schoolwork. She was running for student president, but missed the election yesterday to be in court. Now she looks forward to college, hoping to study criminal justice at Hofstra University.
“I think I’m ready for college now,” she said. “I can get through anything.”
Leave a Reply