A superior court judge in Massachusetts is expected to decide the sentence this week of a Mt. Holyoke College art professor who pleaded guilty to attempted murder.
The Recorder reports Rie Hachiyanagi pleaded guilty to nine charges in the beating of another Mt. Holyoke professor, Lauret Savoy.
On Friday, she told Judge Francis Flannery in her victim impact statement that she still deals with the physical trauma sustained in the severe beating and suffers from nerve damage as well as damage to two of her fingers which don’t work properly.
She said Hachiyanagi tortured her telling her she would be blinded and disfigured.
“For four hours I experienced literal torture of body and of mind, not knowing if I would survive the next minute,” she said, according to Mass Live.
“The emotional, physical, financial, and professional impacts of this crime have been huge and they continue. Now the defendant’s violation of me is becoming part of a public persona that I did not choose. She has invaded my privacy, my career, my life,” she said.
Prosecutor Matthew Thomas is asking for concurrent sentences of 10-12 years in prison for the armed assault and mayhem charges and 7-9 years for assault and battery.
The defense counters that Hachiyanagi has been a model prisoner and asked for 5-7 years in prison folllowed by probation.
Sentencing is set for Wednesday.
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