A white man who stabbed a Black college student to death at a bus stop on the University of Maryland’s flagship College Park campus was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for what prosecutors claimed was a racially motivated hate crime.
Man gets life prison sentence for killing newly commissioned 2nd lieutenant This undated photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Richard Collins III. (U.S. Army via AP) COLLEGE PARK, Md. A white man who stabbed a Black college student to death at a bus stop on the University of Maryland’s flagship College Park campus was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for what prosecutors claimed was a racially motivated hate crime. Sean Urbanski, 25, apologized to the parents of 23-year-old Richard Collins III for the “horrible pain” he caused them and said he wishes he could “go back and change what happened” on the night in May 2017 when he killed the newly commissioned Army lieutenant.
By KATIE METTLER | The Washington Post | Published: January 15, 2021 Sean Urbanski was sentenced to life in prison Thursday afternoon in the 2017 stabbing death of Richard Collins III a case that drew widespread attention amid racial tumult nationwide and prompted lawmakers to revise the hate-crime statute in Maryland. After hours of raw, emotional speeches from friends and family of Collins, as well as a stoic speech from Urbanski and a tearful one from his mother, Prince George s County Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Hill Jr. denied the state s request for a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Hill said he reviewed dozens of letters and victim impact statements on behalf of both men, telling the court he believed his decision to be fair and just.