Offer to massacre survivors draws scorn
SAN ANTONIO — How much should the federal government have to pay survivors of the 2017 Sutherland Springs church massacre and the family members of the 26 people killed?
Lawyers for the survivors and for bereaved relatives of the deceased are asking for some $418 million total.
The U.S. Justice Department has proposed $31.8 million.
The gulf between those two numbers was the source of sharp disagreement and intense emotion Monday during closing arguments in a civil trial in federal court in San Antonio.
“We’ve used the words shocking, horrific, inhumane to describe what’s happened to these families,” Jamal Alsaffar, an attorney representing several of the plaintiffs, said during the court session. “But the same words can be used to describe what was filed by the government.”
Some other plaintiffs’ lawyers called the government’s proposed payment for pain, suffering and mental anguish “ridiculous,” unjust and unfair.
The Sutherland Springs gunman, Devin P. Kelley,was convicted while in the Air Force of domestic violence before being dishonorably discharged. The Air Force failed to report the conviction to a national firearms database, as required by law.
The judge in the case has ruled that if the conviction had been reported, Kelley might not have been able to buy the assault-style rifle he used to carry out the massacre. Kelley committed suicide after fleeing the scene.
In a filing, the Justice Department said its proposed payments to survivors and other claimants were based on evidence presented during a monthlong trial on damages and on previous court cases, federal and Texas state law, and disbursements from a fund for victims of 9/11.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Dingivan said the proposed compensation was in line with trial verdicts in personal injury and wrongful death cases in Texas.
“When you start citing these numbers, everyone says, ‘Oh, it’s so low,’ ” he said. “But it’s right in line with common precedent in this state.”
U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez ruled in July that the Air Force bore 60 percent of the liability for the carnage because of its negligence in failing to report Kelley’s domestic violence conviction to the national firearms database. The judge said Kelley bore the remaining liability.
The ruling paved the way for a separate trial in Rodriguez’s courtroom to determine damages; that phase of the proceedings concluded Monday, with closing statements from the opposing sides.
The proposed compensation includes medical expenses, lost wages and loss of future income, as well as so-called noneconomic damages for pain, suffering, anguish and loss of companionship.
The two sides largely agree on economic damages. The discrepancy in their proposals stems largely from differing assessments of noneconomic damages.
The approximately 80 claimants include relatives of the 26 people killed as well as the 21 survivors and their families. In seeking compensation, many of the plaintiffs cited loss of companionship: the absence of parents who cannot attend weddings or graduations or be a presence in their lives.