Should convicted murderer Mason Sisk, 18, spend the remainder of his life in prison or should he be granted a “ray of hope” to be considered for parole after 30 years behind bars?

Sisk was convicted in April of four counts of capital murder in the September 2, 2019, shooting deaths of his father, John Sisk; stepmother, Mary Prater Sisk; and half-siblings, Cain Sisk, 6 and Aurora “Rory” Sisk, 4; and 6-month-old Colson Sisk as they lay sleeping in their beds. Limestone County Circuit Court Judge Chad Wise said Tuesday given that Sisk was just 14 at the time of the killings, he is not eligible for the death sentence.

“There are two possible sentences and those are life without parole and life with the possibility of parole after 30 years,” said Wise.

County District Attorney Brian Jones and his team recommended Tuesday morning to Circuit Judge Chad Wise that Sisk be given life in the penitentiary without the chance of parole.

“I’ve done this a long time, too long,” said Jones in his closing argument for keeping Sisk locked up. “There’s only been four or five people in my career that scare the hell out of me, and he is at the top of the list. He needs to go back in the box and we can rest knowing he will never kill another child.”

Defense attorneys Michael Sizemore and Shay Golden called five people to the stand, who supported giving time for Sisk to rehabilitate himself and possibly salvage part of a productive life. Two of those who spoke, one a former prison warden and one a formerly incarcerated person, expressed doubts that Sisk could escape unharmed or even survive in the prison system.

Wise did not pronounce sentencing Tuesday, but he said he would reset another hearing “in the near future.” The judge said he would take under consideration what is termed the “balancing act” before making his decision.

Among factors the “balancing act” are Sisk’s juvenile age at the time of the crime, immaturity, failure to realize the consequences of his actions, emotional development, past exposure to violence, mental health, potential for rehabilitation and history of aggravating or mitigating circumstances.

Jones led by calling for victims’ impact statements to be read. Kristin King, who was at the time a sheriff’s department investigator, was called to the scene the night of the murders. She said she “witnessed events that would affect me all of my life.”

“It’s hard to describe,” she said. “There were the kids’ backpacks lined up for school the next day when they would never attend school. Rory’s body was covered by a little pink princess blanket, Cain’s Legos were lined up on the edge of his bed covered in his own blood, and the baby was lying in bed with his mother who held him as a nursing child. These are sights that will haunt me the rest of my life, and I will never forget the looks on the faces of fellow officers, many of whom are parents themselves, that night as we stood silent vigil.

“Mason not only ended their (the victims) lives, he took away all potential of their lives.”

Jones read the impact statement submitted by another responding deputy, Rhett McNatt, in which he said that after having served as a sheriff’s deputy for 20 years he thought that he had “experienced every emotion possible. I didn’t need to review my body camera images; it wasn’t necessary. This changed the lives of all of the first responders to see innocent children killed. They will never get to experience their first kiss, getting married and having children of their own. It was a helpless feeling not to be able to help these children.”

Responder Justin Fields said the sights of that night “changed his life. He showed no remorse. He is a sick monster. No one on the scene will ever forget. I hope I never see anything like that again.”

Douglas Prater, brother to the late Mary Sisk who lives in Spain, read a lengthy, heart-wrenching statement, saying his mother, the late Denise Prater, was Mason’s nanny and strongest supporter. She had fought in opposition to the rest of her family for Mason to be eventually buried in the same cemetery plot as the family members he had murdered.

“You were the sixth victim of your actions,” said Prater. “If you bring something positive in this world maybe you can spend the next (world) next to your family. … If you choose to do nothing, your life is no different than your death.”

Moving impact statements were also read from Mary’s two sisters. Katie Prater said she was there Tuesday to be the voice of those who could no longer speak.

“Mary was about to start her Ph.D. In 20 days, Rory and Cain would have been 4 and 6 years old,” said Katie Prater. “And there was Colson. We never got the chance to hold him. The first time we saw him was when they put him in Mary’s casket.”

“Your mom,” said Katie, addressing Mason. “Wanted to leave your dad so many times. He said she could take the others, but not Mason. So she stayed and took the abuse.”

She said the murders and subsequent trials took a deadly toll on her entire family. Mason’s first trial ended in a mistrial when defense attorneys said they had not had the opportunity to read the recently accessed messages on Mary Sisk’s cellphone.

She said that after the first trial in September 2022, “Nanny” — Denise Prater, her mother — suffered a heart attack after witnessing photos and graphic testimony and suffered cardiac arrest in November and died. Another sister, Bridget, suffered a premature birth with her infant girl dying in her arms just 45 minutes later. Bridget named her dead daughter “Marigold” after her murdered Aunt Mary.

“And Paw-Paw’s cancer came back,” she said. “He now has more grands in graves than alive. Mason, you had people who loved you. Hope you’re in prison the rest of your life.”

Bridget Prater Smith’s statement, read into the record by Kristin King, stated in part, “Mary nurtured and loved you every day of her life. She wanted you to have the memory of a mother who loved you. … We cleaned up the mess you made. Did Mary say your name when you raised a gun in her face? Nanny never believed your guilt until she saw the evidence. … She still mourned the loss of you and didn’t want you to turn out like your father, but you are worse. I’m saddened that you will never be surrounded by a loving family again. The child Mason died the moment you murdered them.”

Defense attorneys Sizemore and Golden called Mason’s girlfriend, Lola Holliday, to the stand, who said she never saw any violence in Mason. Lola’s father, Charles Holliday, who himself served time in prison for manslaughter and three counts of first-degree assault, predicted a dire outcome for Mason if he is imprisoned in the “gen pop” (general population).

He said that once convicts get off the bus at the correctional facility, they are greeted by coffee and Honey Buns while being processed into the system, but those hardened criminals already there would be taking bids on who would “own” him and all that term entails in a prison environment. He predicted the bids would be from $100 to $200.

Mason’s aunt, Amanda Rivera-Brigido, sister of the late John Sisk, detailed abuse and neglect Mason, as an infant and toddler, suffered at the hands of his late drug-addicted birth mother, Chariane Sisk. She said Mason’s mother consumed pain pills that she stole from family members while she was pregnant. After Mason was born, she was neglectful, holding the toddler in a dog-kennel type wire enclosure in the living room so he couldn’t get into things around the house. One day she fell on top of the “cage” that collapsed on top of the infant. She also locked Mason in a darkened bathroom when he was 3 and left the home. She said Mason was left with a lifelong fear of the dark.

“One time she was giving Mason a bath in a locked bathroom and he was screaming,” said Amanda. “My father kicked the door down. She wanted to take him with her when she left, but we weren’t going to let that happen.”

In time, John sued for divorce and was granted custody of Mason. He began a relationship with Mary Prater when Mason was about 4 and they married. She said it was a rough beginning for the marriage.

“What was normal for us, wasn’t normal for her,” she said. “We came from two different worlds. But over time, it got better.”

Retired St. Clair Correctional Facility warden David Wise (no relation to judge) testified that those sentenced to life without parole have no incentive to rehabilitate.

There is a hierarchy in the prison population,” said Wise. “There are those (lifers) at the top run the drugs and prostitution and the weaker class of inmates is who they feed upon.”

This story contains additional information from previous reporting, and includes afternoon testimony from the July 25, 2023, court sentencing of Mason Sisk. Find additional updates at enewscourier.com.