Federal Court Upholds Life Sentence Of Sunset Park Subway Shooter

BROOKLYN, NY — A federal court has just upheld the life sentence and conviction of Frank James, a New Yorker who gunned down a subway car full of commuters at the 36 Street subway station in Sunset Park in April 2022.

In 2023, The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York decided to give James 10 life sentences in prison, one for each of the 10 passengers harmed in the attack, and on Thursday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit — a federal court that oversees several district courts — upheld the ruling.

Defense attorneys for James had argued that James did not act with the intent to kill and said he had a mental illness that facilitated the attack, but the federal court said in an official there was "ample evidence" that the 65-year-old had intended to kill as many people as possible, and therefore upheld the ruling.

"In the years leading up to the attack, James posted multiple videos on the internet in which he either repeatedly discussed how the human population must be reduced, or praised and expressed a desire to copy the actions of notorious murderers like Ted Bundy," Thursday's court opinion read.