Frank James, the man who shot 10 people on a Brooklyn subway train last year, was sentenced to life in prison Thursday, USA Today reports. James, 64, pleaded guilty to multiple federal terrorism charges in the April 12, 2022, attack. He received a life sentence on 10 counts and 10 years for an 11th count after some of the shooting victims read statements in court. Police identified James as the suspect using a key he'd left behind on the train that went to a rented U-Haul van. He was eventually arrested after he called a tip line from a McDonald's restaurant to turn himself in. In addition to the 10 people shot, more than a dozen people suffered from injuries including smoke inhalation and shrapnel wounds; all survived.
James' attorneys had asked that he be sentenced to 18 years, arguing he didn't intend to kill anyone. They said he has a lifelong history of serious mental illness. Prosecutors argued he'd spent years planning the attack and intended to cause maximum harm, including death. Investigators said James posted dozens of videos online in which he ranted about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. James, who is Black, decried the treatment of Black people in some of the videos. In some, he also ranted about New York City officials. Prosecutors argued it was luck that nobody on the subway died that day, not a reflection of James' intention to harm and not kill. James and his attorneys said his goal was bodily injury, not death.