Speaking Hmong ... The victim's mother said her heart is broken. Chia Xiong's family pointed to 60-year-old James Herren as the man who caused their pain.
Vicky Xiong, victim's sister: "Bottom line is because of this man right here. I don't have my sister any more. My niece doesn't have a mother. My siblings don't have their sister."
In May a jury convicted Herren of second degree murder. His defense attorney admitted Herren shot and killed the victim in August 2007. But the defense argued ... Herren found Xiong abusing his grand child and tried to protect her.
Patten: "Jury Deliberations were hard. Three days of arguing about the same thing."
Laura Patten was on the jury that convicted Herren. She said they believed him and wanted to convicted him of a lesser charge.
Laura Patten, Former Juror: "He didn't expect anything like this to happen. He was just trying to protect his grand baby in his eyes. We all felt bad. It still crosses my mind every once a while. This poor guy."
But all jurors eventually agreed on second degree murder. The judge sentenced Herren to 40-years to life even after hearing emotional words from his family.
Anna Martinez, Defendant's Cousin: "I can only tell you what I know about Jim. I grew up with him and he was a good man, I've always seen him do good things."
Herren will be more than 90 years old before he will be eligible for parole.
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