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Murder of Cannon Hinnant

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Murder of Cannon Hinnant
Murder victim Cannon Hinnant
LocationWilson, North Carolina, U.S.
DateAugust 9, 2020; 4 years ago (2020-08-09)
Attack type
Child murder by shooting
VictimCannon Blake Hinnant
PerpetratorDarius Nathaniel Sessoms
MotiveUnknown
Convicted
  • Darius Nathaniel Sessoms
  • Aolani Takemi Marie Pettit
VerdictPleaded guilty
ConvictionsSessoms:

Pettit:

SentenceSessoms:
Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole
Pettit:
18 months probation[1]

Cannon Blake Hinnant (April 30, 2015 – August 9, 2020)[2] was a five-year-old American boy from Wilson, North Carolina who was shot and killed on August 9, 2020, while playing in his neighbor's yard. Hinnant's neighbor, Darius Sessoms, was arrested for the shooting within 24 hours.

On December 29, 2022, Sessoms entered an Alford plea. An Alford plea allows a defendant to maintain their innocence while admitting that the prosecution has evidence that would allow them to obtain a conviction. A judge sentenced Sessoms to life in prison without the possibility of parole.[1][3][4]

The murder gained further coverage due to prominent conservative figures' unsubstantiated claims that the murder was racially motivated, claims which Hinnant's family have repeatedly denounced.[5][6]

Shooting and arrest

At 5:30 pm on August 9, 2020, Hinnant cycled onto his next-door neighbor's property, and the neighbor, Darius Sessoms, a 25-year-old man, shot the boy at point-blank range.[7][8][9] At the time, Hinnant was playing outside with his two older sisters. After police officers and EMS personnel arrived at the location of the shooting, Hinnant was taken to Wilson Medical Center where he died from his injuries.[8][10] The motive for the shooting is unknown.[7][5] Sessoms was arrested within 24 hours and subsequently charged with first-degree murder.[11][12]

On September 22, Sessoms' girlfriend was also arrested in connection with the case. She was charged with felony accessory after the fact.[13][14]

Prosecution

Sessoms was formally indicted by a grand jury on December 22, 2021.[15] His initial court date was set for January 26, 2022.[16] In January, 2022, Sessoms pled not guilty to first-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm.[17] Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty at that time.

Outcome

Sessoms was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on December 29, 2022, after entering an Alford plea.[1][3][4] His girlfriend pled guilty to obstruction of justice, and received a suspended sentence of 4 to 14 months, with 18 months supervised probation.

Political response

There were claims circulated by politically conservative social media users and by conservative news outlets that mainstream news outlets other than Fox News were not reporting about the story because they did not want to report about a black man killing a white child. However, according to Snopes, the incident had been covered by local and national media, and there was no evidence of a cover-up.[8][6]

Conservative social media users also appropriated phrases from the anti-racist policing movement in support of Hinnant.[8] Hinnant's mother posted to Facebook stating that Hinnant's death had nothing to do with race. She also specifically requested that people stop comparing her son's death to the murder of George Floyd.[5] Hinnant's family, including both his mother and father, have repeatedly stated that the murder was not racially motivated.[5][6]

Memorials

Hinnant's funeral was held on August 13, 2020.[18]

A GoFundMe page was created by Hinnant's grandmother with a goal of raising $5,000 for the family.[19] As of August 19, 2020, it had raised over $815,000.[20]

On August 14, 2020, Skeeter Tulloch of Lee County painted "Cannon's Life Matters" on an unidentified street as a memorial to Hinnant.[20]

On August 23, hundreds of people gathered in Kenly, North Carolina to honor Hinnant. Some at the event wore shirts reading "I Can't Ride / All Lives Matter". An all-day softball event was also held the previous day as a fund-raiser.[21]

References

  1. ^ a b c Talhelm, Matt (December 29, 2022). "Wilson man sentenced to life in prison for shooting 5-year-old neighbor in head". WRAL.com.
  2. ^ "Obituary for Cannon Blake Hinnant". Shingleton Funeral Home. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Talhelm, Matt (December 29, 2022). "Darius Sessoms gets life sentence in Cannon Hinnant murder". WRAL.com., (video and transcript)
  4. ^ a b Luperon, Alberto (December 29, 2022). "North Carolina Man Sentenced to Life for Shooting Neighbor's 5-Year-Old Son in the Head". lawandcrime.com.
  5. ^ a b c d Hernandez, Salvador (August 15, 2020). "Police Have Not Released A Motive For The Killing Of A 5-Year-Old Who Was Shot While Riding A Bike". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Voytko, Lisette (August 17, 2020). "How The Murder Of 5-Year-Old Cannon Hinnant Became A Conservative Controversy About Race". Forbes. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Shammas, Brittany (August 15, 2020). "What we know about the killing of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant". Washington Post.
  8. ^ a b c d Lee, Jessica (August 14, 2020). "Was a Black Man Charged in the Killing of a White 5-Year-Old in North Carolina?". Snopes.
  9. ^ Harmata, Claudia (August 16, 2020). "Mother of Murdered 5-Year-Old N.C. Boy Speaks Out: 'My Baby Didn't Deserve This'". People. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  10. ^ Razek, Raja (August 14, 2020). "A 25-year-old man has been charged in the shooting death of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant". CNN.
  11. ^ Culver, Jordan (August 13, 2020). "Police: North Carolina man faces murder charge in shooting death of 5-year-old boy". USA Today.
  12. ^ Graziosi, Graig (August 13, 2020). "Cannon Hinnant: Boy, 5, shot dead by neighbour while cycling in his yard". The Independent.
  13. ^ "21-year-old woman charged in connection with shooting death of Wilson 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. September 22, 2020.
  14. ^ Harris, Chris (September 25, 2020). "Girlfriend of Man Who Allegedly Shot, Killed 5-Year-Old N.C. Boy on Bike Is Also Charged". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  15. ^ "Darius Sessoms indicted for first-degree murder". ABC 11. December 27, 2021.
  16. ^ "NC grand jury indicts man in deadly 2020 shooting of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant". 10News. December 29, 2021.
  17. ^ "State seeking death penalty for man accused of killing 5-year-old Wilson boy". WITN. January 26, 2022.
  18. ^ Lozano, Michael (August 14, 2020). "'He meant the world to me': Family, friends honor life of Cannon Hinnant, the 5-year-old boy shot and killed while riding bike in Wilson". WTVD ABC 11.
  19. ^ "More than $766K raised for 5-year-old boy fatally shot at point-blank range in N.C." WBTV. August 15, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  20. ^ a b "'Cannon's Life Matters': N.C. man's mural honors 5-year-old who was fatally shot". www.wdbj7.com. August 21, 2020.
  21. ^ Wilson, Diane (August 23, 2020). "Cannon Hinnant: Hundreds of bikers gather in Kenly to remember the life of 5-year-old Wilson boy". WTVD.
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