Grace Jennings' Family and Isaac Apodaca's Mother Speak at the Bloody Sword Sentencing | Pt 32

Grace Jennings' grandmother held up a photo of Grace in life, the one picture the jury never saw at trial. Then Isaac Apodaca's mother stood up for her son. This is the Bloody Sword Trial, the State of New Mexico v. Isaac Apodaca, in the First Judicial District Court. In October 2022, Grace Jennings died in a detached garage after a night she spent there with Apodaca and Kiara McCulley. McCulley swung the sword. The state's case was that Apodaca pushed her to it with message after message through that night, and the jury found him guilty of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder. This is his sentencing hearing. McCulley's own hearing comes after the recess, in the next Part. Prosecutor Haley Murphy takes the court back to the garage and the messages, and she shares what the state's psychiatrist, Dr. Michael Welner, told prosecutors about Apodaca. Grace's grandmother speaks by video from out of state, and two more letters from Grace's family are read aloud. Then the defense makes its stand: the murder and the conspiracy were one act and should carry one punishment, and Apodaca never held the sword. His mother, Linda Montoya, tells the court who her son was before all of this. Here is the question I want you to sit with. The defense says the state used the same messages to prove both counts, so punishing both punishes him twice for one act. The state says agreeing to a killing and carrying it out are two separate crimes. That is a real legal fight, and the judge has to weigh it before he decides anything. Then listen to Judge T. Glenn Ellington explain why he puts this on Apodaca: "But for you, Grace wouldn't have been there that night." Watch it whole and decide whether the reasoning holds up. --- WATCH WITH JUSTICE 0:00:00 What this video is, and a preview 0:00:11 Intro 0:00:49 to 0:03:13 - Video starts: The judge opens Isaac Apodaca's sentencing hearing 0:03:13 to 0:04:43 - Prosecutor Haley Murphy retraces the night in the garage 0:04:43 to 0:08:05 - The state calls one message the "psychological kill shot" 0:08:05 to 0:10:08 - The state argues the conspiracy and the murder are two separate crimes 0:10:08 to 0:13:37 - The state walks through Apodaca's record and his conduct in jail 0:13:37 to 0:18:59 - The state shares what Dr. Michael Welner told prosecutors about Apodaca 0:18:59 to 0:26:39 - Grace's grandmother speaks to the court by video 0:26:39 to 0:29:26 - "This is Grace in life": the family shows the court her photo 0:29:26 to 0:36:07 - Two more letters from Grace's family are read to the court 0:36:07 to 0:38:16 - The state makes its request and asks that Apodaca never contact Grace's family 0:38:16 to 0:48:36 - The defense argues the murder and the conspiracy were one act 0:48:36 to 0:52:27 - The defense says Apodaca never held the sword and can still change 0:52:27 to 0:59:54 - Apodaca's mother, Linda Montoya, speaks for her son 0:59:54 to 1:04:46 - The judge looks back on four years of this case 1:04:46 to 1:07:48 - The judge calls this case shocking 1:07:48 to 1:10:16 - The judge tells Apodaca he made it happen 1:10:16 to 1:12:19 - The judge describes the vigilante fantasy Apodaca sold to McCulley 1:12:19 to 1:16:17 - The judge hands down the sentence --- COMPLETE CASE COVERAGE justiceisaprocess.com SUBSCRIBE for daily trial coverage and hit the notification bell so you never miss testimony. JOIN to unlock the Case Notebook powered by NotebookLM, where you can chat with the evidence, ask questions about testimony, and go deeper than any comment section allows. CASE BACKGROUND REPORT: https://justiceisaprocess.com/nm-v-ap... Complete case overview: the charges, the timeline, the people at the center, the pretrial rulings that shaped this battlefield, and the legal questions that will decide it. Read this before you watch a minute of testimony. PLAYLISTS AND RESOURCES Website: https://justiceisaprocess.com/coverag... Full Trial Live Broadcasts:    • NM v. Isaac Apodaca - Live Broadcast   No Breaks Edition:    • NM v. Isaac Apodaca - No Breaks Edition   Trial Analysis Podcast:    • NM v. Isaac Apodaca - Case Story Trial Pod...   Key Moments and Testimony:    • NM v. Isaac Apodaca - Key Moments and Clips   Subscribe for Daily Coverage:    / @justiceisaprocess   FAIR USE AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE This content is produced under Fair Use (17 U.S.C. 107) for news reporting, criticism, and educational purposes. We provide transformative commentary on public court proceedings, advancing public understanding of the judicial process through timestamps, analysis, and educational context. #JusticeIsAProcess #SantaFeSwordMurder #Apodaca