This past October, when a Juneau jury found Christopher Strawn guilty of the 2015 murder of Brandon Cook, Cook’s friends and family wore shirts that said “Justice for Brandon” as the verdict was read.
At the time, Juneau Superior Court Judge Philip Pallenberg admonished them for wearing the shirts, saying he didn’t want the shirts to taint the jury. At Strawn’s sentencing hearing this Wednesday, Pallenberg again referenced the shirts.
“That wasn’t the day, it wasn’t the time for there to be justice for Brandon Cook,” Pallenberg said Wednesday. “Today is the day for there to be justice for Brandon Cook.”
Pallenberg’s sentence was for 34-year-old Strawn to spend 90 years in prison, which was even stricter than the 84-year sentence Assistant District Attorney Amy Paige requested in her sentencing memorandum.
[Jury convicts Strawn on all counts]
Strawn will serve 88 years for first-degree murder and two years for third-degree assault for putting the sole witness in the case, Tiffany Johnson, in fear for her life when she witnessed the Oct. 20, 2015 shooting. Strawn will be able to apply for parole after one-third of that sentence, Pallenberg said.
“I expect the only way that the parole board, 30 and a half years out, would remotely consider letting him out is if he has shown very substantial and real change,” Pallenberg said. “I don’t consider that to be likely.”
During the hearing, Strawn repeatedly said he felt sorry for Cook’s family and friends who were affected by the loss, but he did not take responsibility for the crime. Pallenberg said during Wednesday’s hearing that this apparent lack of remorse was part of the reason he imposed a severe sentence. Pallenberg also said that Strawn presents a danger to the community and his prospects of rehabilitation seem low, based on the findings of a recent psychological evaluation of Strawn.
Pallenberg requested that the psychological evaluation be done for two reasons: that Strawn had reported during an earlier prison sentence from an unrelated case that he was being treated for a mental health disorder. Secondly, as Pallenberg wrote in a Feb. 8 court order, there was not a clear motive for the 2015 murder, which made it difficult to discern how much of a danger Strawn could pose to the community in the future.
Pallenberg read part of the psychological evaluation, done by Juneau Dr. John Kesselring, aloud in court to reveal Kesselring’s findings on Strawn’s potential for being a danger to the community.
“Mr. Strawn never showed emotion regarding the death of Mr. Cook,” Pallenberg read from Kesselring’s report. “He never showed remorse, regret or a sense of responsibility about any of the crimes, substance abuse problems, bad relations or decisions he’s made in his life. Taken together, his history and presentation indicate he has a high risk of violence in the future.”
Cook’s parents, Amanda and Don Cook, flew up from their home in Wewoka, Oklahoma, for the hearing. In an interview after the hearing, Don said he barely slept the night before, knowing he was going to speak at the sentencing hearing but unsure of what to say.
He began by saying that all that most people know about his son is that he’s a murder victim. Newspaper headlines refer to Brandon as a murder victim, not as the fun-loving, athletic, caring individual he was, Don said.
Brandon, who was 30 at the time of his death, worked at the Safeway grocery store in Juneau, as well as the Alaska Airlines ramp at the Juneau International Airport. He had lived in Juneau for almost 10 years after moving from Oklahoma to be with his girlfriend at the time.
Don showed a picture of his grandchildren gathered around Brandon’s grave in Oklahoma, and said that while Strawn’s sentence is lengthy, Strawn still gets to wake up every morning and talk to friends, go outside and communicate with his family while in prison.
“He still has a life in prison, and my son doesn’t,” Don said. “He’s gone forever.”
As the sentence was read, Amanda kissed a ring on her right hand. Brandon had given her that ring for Mother’s Day, she said in an interview, and she could feel his presence with her in the courtroom.
The case has experienced numerous delays, as Strawn’s first trial resulted in a mistrial and the sentencing was delayed five months in order to complete the psychological evaluation. Brandon’s friends and family stood outside the courtroom afterward, saying they were relieved and almost in disbelief that the case had finally come to a close.
Paige came over to Don to wish him well, and said she wished she had gotten a chance to meet Brandon.
“You would have liked him,” Don said. “He would have made you laugh.”
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
