Rashad Charjuan Owens, the hit-and-run driver who killed four people when he plowed through a crowd of people at 2014's South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. A Travis County jury convicted the 23 year old of capital murder after relatively brief deliberations.
Authorities apprehended Owens, who was 21 at the time, after he drove through a temporary barricade near Tyler the Creator's performance at the Mohawk last March. The venue had quickly reached capacity, but because the artist had tweeted that more fans would be permitted inside, fans continued to flock to the already-crowded Austin street. In addition to killing four people, at least 23 others were injured from the incident. To add insult to injury, the car was stolen and the driver was drunk while operating it.
As Rolling Stone reports, the capital murder verdict required the jury to unanimously agree that the defendant "intentionally killed two or more people." According to the Austin American Statesman, the verdict also required the jury to determine that he was fleeing authorities when he committed the act.
According to the Statesman's rundown of the court proceedings, defense lawyers illuminated one reason the driver seemed to prioritize fleeing police over all else with footage from a dash camera in which Owens asked the arresting officer Robert Mitchell, "You are not going to kill me, are you?" Defense lawyers cross-examined the arresting officer by posing the question "whether it was unreasonable for any young black man to fear being killed by police."
In closing arguments, prosecutors advised the jury to worry less about Owens' intent and to instead focus on his awareness of the deadly consequences of his actions. Meanwhile, the defense closed by urging the jury to remember that the defendant was from a small town and unfamiliar with the area and did not realize the road was closed to traffic. As the Statesman reports, the prosecuting lawyers said outside the courtroom that "the case was never about drunken driving to them but a man who knowingly took selfish actions."
Watch Complex's coverage from the initial press conference held by Austin Police Chief immediately following the 2014 SXSW hit-and-run tragedy below.
