De'Ondre White murder trial: Families, attorneys react to sentencing
AUSTIN, Texas - After a two-week-long murder trial, a jury sentenced 21-year-old De’Ondre White to 30 years in prison for the murder of Douglas Kantor in a 2021 mass shooting on Sixth Street.
The jury spent a combined total of 11 hours deliberating both White's guilty verdict and prison sentence.
It is a sentence that's bittersweet for the Kantor family.
"A guilty verdict on a murder case and a sentence in prison, none of that brings Doug back, but we're comforted that at least some measure of justice occurred," said Doug O'connell, lawyer for the Kantor family.
In the end, all Julia Kantor wants is her son back. She gave an allocution after the sentence was read with Doug’s ashes by her side.
"The only small comfort I get is that I can hold Doug’s ashes close to me," she said.
This murder trial has been long for the Kantor family, but Doug Kantor’s father, Joe, says nothing compares to the pain they have endured the last two years as a result of White’s actions.
"What you did that June night has forever changed the lives of so many people. All the plans we had; we will never get a chance to see them materialize. If you had met him and been fortunate enough to meet him, perhaps we wouldn't be here tonight," he said to White.
Doug’s older brother Nick took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the 30-year sentence. He wrote in part, "I guess 30 years with parole at 15 is the measure of what Doug's life is worth in this justice system. I hope that the other 14 victims feel more justice than we do."
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"While you're still sitting in your cell somewhere, you think about your actions that night and how different things could have been," said Joe.
As for White, he held his face in his hands after his sentence was read. The judge wished him good luck as his family sat in the row behind him in disbelief.
"They're very disappointed, obviously, with the outcome," said Russ Hunt Jr., Defense Attorney For De'Ondre White.
Hunt says White is remorseful for his actions from June 12, 2021.
"De'Ondre would never want anyone to believe that he went out there with the intention to hurt anybody. He feels terrible about what happened and is terribly remorseful about all the people that were injured," said Hunt.
White will receive credit for his time already served in prison. He will be eligible for parole after serving half of his sentence.