January 26, 2012 in Region

Barefoot Bandit’s lawyers say he’s truly sorry

Associated Press

SEATTLE — Lawyers for “Barefoot Bandit” Colton Harris-Moore are fighting back against the notion that he’s not sorry for his infamous two-year crime spree of break-ins and boat and plane thefts that ended in 2010 in the Bahamas.

In a filing in federal court Thursday, defense attorneys said prosecutors released cherry-picked excerpts from emails in an effort to make him appear callous and self-aggrandizing. The 20-year-old called the Island County sheriff “king swine,” called prosecutors “fools,” and referred to reporters as “vermin.” He also described his feats — stealing and flying planes with no formal training — “amazing” and said they were unmatched by anyone except the Wright brothers.

But the full emails show that Harris-Moore is sorry for what he did and thankful for the treatment he received from a state who called his case a “triumph of the human spirit.” The judge sentenced him last month to seven years, at the low end of the sentencing range.

The attorneys acknowledged that in certain instances he bragged, but they said those writings were simply the product of an impulsive adolescent and don’t reflect his true remorse.

“I know what I did was wrong; I feel bad for the victims and will make things right ANY way I can; am ashamed of myself,” he wrote Dec. 2 in one email.

Elsewhere, he reflected on his decision to sell his movie rights in a deal that is expected to repay his victims to the tune of more than $1.2 million.

“Yes, a movie will likely be made, though that was NEVER my goal, and I am still not happy about that because doing such a deal means that I release the details of what I feel are very private and personal experiences and memories,” he wrote in an email last August. “Despite the way I feel about it, nobody forced or pressured me to sign the contract. And on top of that, what I want or don’t like doesn’t really matter. I feel a sense of responsibility to people on Camano Island and San Juans . they are the ONLY reason I did this.”

Harris-Moore was arrested in the Bahamas in summer 2010 when authorities shot out the motor of a boat he stole. He arrived in the Bahamas after making a daring cross-country dash in stolen boats and cars, stealing a plane in Indiana and crash-landing it off the Bahamas.

He pleaded guilty and last month and was sentenced for his state crimes. He is scheduled to be sentenced Friday for his federal crimes. Prosecutors are asking for a six-and-a-half year term to be served while he serves his state time. Harris-Moore’s attorneys, Emma Scanlan and John Henry Browne, have requested a federal term of just under six years.

14 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

BlondeSquawker on January 26 at 11:03 a.m.
Sure he’s sorry. He’s sorry he got caught.
lewis8457 on January 26 at 11:11 a.m.
just as sorry as KT is for beating Otto down.
RedCedar on January 26 at 11:39 a.m.
Well, what are you going to do to him? String him up and shoot him? He didn’t hurt anybody (no, the emotional trauma of having one’s stuff stolen doesn’t count) and he will soon have the means to pay back everyone for their monetary damage. That’s good enough for me.
therailroader on January 26 at 12:22 p.m.
Thank God he’s not in New Mexico (read the story about the DUI & two years of solitary confinement). Or that he is white! the more serious the sentence & charges, the better the proscecutor looks for his promotional path. I agree with RedCedar.
SMARTGUY on January 26 at 12:40 p.m.
He was armed and dangerous, the fact that he never shot anyone is not the point. If you let him off and make a movie what do you do with all the idiots that wil follow in his footsteps. If another kid trys this and kills himself or someone else they should chare him for that too. The wrist slap he recieved is a joke, the real reason he got off is a lot of bored stupid people thought he was cool.
RedCedar on January 26 at 1:14 p.m.
what do you do with all the idiots that wil follow in his footsteps.
Yeah, yeah, yeah… all those idiots will follow in his footsteps, but until he stole an airplane, nobody else would have ever thought of it. You could make the same thoughtless argument about any crime. If I let you inject heroin into your veins and we don’t punish you for it, pretty soon everybody will be injecting heroin into their veins. The fact is, not very many people even want to go on transcontinental burglary sprees. Not every criminal needs to be made an example of. Unusual, highly-publicized crimes make the news because they don’t happen very often, and the reason they don’t happen very often is that not very many people want to commit them.
By the way, 7 years in prison is not a “wrist slap”. It’s right in the range of what someone would get for aggravated assault, and is way above the punishment for simple burglary.
WHS on January 26 at 2:47 p.m.
But but but it mighta just coulda possibly beena a really really really bad dangerous thing… So therefore he should recieve the maximun sentence! Lock him up and throw away the key, because he mighta coulda possibly maybe….
Well, he didn’t. Sheesh folks… Had he shot back, this might be a different story, but he didn’t. He is a screwed up kid, that came from a screwed up stupid family. It seems to me that nobody got hurt, the damaged parties are being paid for their losses and the kid is going to spend the next seven years just trying to survive and not getting raped, beaten and turned into a truly dangerous criminal.
WHS
Loudin on January 26 at 4:34 p.m.
Whoa, whoa, whoa…
This kid did a bunch of crap that harmed a lot of people, and though they may be made whole again via money from a book and movie, crimes were still committed.
I’m a fairly liberal guy, but for people to say “Oh well, nobody got hurt and shoulda’-woulda’-coulda’ didn’t really happen, so let the poor boy go”? What a bunch of BS. Why even have laws then if the legal sins committed by criminals should go unpunished if they can find a way to pay for the damages?
I don’t want this kid to be raped or physically hurt in prison, but there is an accounting for crimes in our society…and you have to be a very aloof person to think that should be abandoned. I expect those sort of head-in-one’s-rear comments over on the PI and Times, but I would like to think we’re a bit more responsible around here.
Wow…I just have to assume that WHS and Red Cedar are either trolls in the vein of Shademuse, part of that Facebook group w/crushes on him or they’ve never been through the process of robbery/burglary. You two need to get a grip before you type…
Loudin
RedCedar on January 26 at 5:44 p.m.
Why even have laws then if the legal sins committed by criminals should go unpunished
Who’s “legal sins” are going “unpunished” here? The kid is getting 7 years of hard time for what boils down to burglary and theft. What punishment would satisfy you? I’m tired of people on these comment boards always being so quick to say that somebody didn’t get a harsh enough punishment, but they’ll never say what they think the punishment should be. And no, “more” is not an answer either. What do you want? Life in prison? Chop off his hands? Cover him with honey and stake him to an ant hill in the sun? Just go ahead and tell me. Or explain why sentencing a thief to restitution plus 7 years in prison amounts does not qualify as “an accounting”.
Loudin on January 26 at 6:48 p.m.
Settle down Red Nancy: Nobody said anything about this kid doing more than the seven years he’s facing. And no one wants his hands chopped off or any of the other ridiculous simplistic thoughts you put out there for straw-man argument purposes.
He’s an adult, he did reprehensible things and yet there are apologists out there like you that want him at home w/Mama…where he learned the behaviors that got him in trouble in the first place (as opposed to prison). He needs to make restitution, he needs to serve his time and then he needs to get his life in order. But he absolutely does not need absolution at the hands of fanboys like yourself and the other Nancies who populate the SI, Times and Facebook…crying about how much of a travesty it is that this kid does time.
Funny thing: If this kid is Hispanic, from Walla Walla and stole cars instead of planes, nobody would give a rat’s derriere about his imprisonment (which would be significantly longer). So just stop already w/the feigned outrage…
Loudin
SMARTGUY on January 26 at 7:33 p.m.
The amount of years he got is about one tenth of the normal minimum sentence given out for the crimes committed. That is what I think he should have got, what anybody else who committed a series of felonies should get. If you trully support the three strkes law he should be in for life after a dozen armed felonies.
bdr on January 26 at 8:00 p.m.
Sorry boy meets REALITY!
someone sorry for what they have done learned at age 6 is excusable.
someone learning the meaning of sorry at 20-years old doesn’t count.
greenlibertarian on January 26 at 9:26 p.m.
Wow…I just have to assume that WHS and Red Cedar are either trolls in the vein of Shademuse, part of that Facebook group w/crushes on him or they’ve never been through the process of robbery/burglary. You two need to get a grip before you type…
Loudin
You couldn’t be more WRONG, obviously you don’t pay attention around here.
And somebody says the kid should get 10 times the sentence, 70 years? Yeah, that makes sense.
For god’s sakes people, get a clue, pay attention, or keep your ignorant opinions to yourself. That includes ME!
WHS on January 31 at 9:59 a.m.
Thank you Green!
And Loudin, this is a little late on the rebuttal, but you are completely wrong here…
I am all for the sentence he recieved, I think it is a fair and just punishment for the crimes committed. However, what I am tired of is the argument that goes, but but but he just mighta… Well he didn’t. That’s like saying a 12 year old that steals a snickers from the grocery, might, just maybe, have used a gun and shot and killed some poor innocent clerk, therefore, since he mighta just coulda possibly done something worse we need to lock him up and throw away the key…
Goes back to drinking water from a hose. I did it and so did every single kid I knew growing up. That is, until somebody determined that maybe, just maybe you could contract some rare disease, or in the case of a girl drinking after a boy, even get pregnant! So, better filter that water or better yet, just go out buy a bottle of water!
WHS