Original subtitles

[narrator] In May, 2016 20-year-old Michael Sandford's parents

reported that he had gone missing in America.

Twenty-three days later,

he turned up at a Donald Trump campaign rally in Las Vegas.

[cheering]

I will build a great, great wall.

Shortly after Trump took to the stage, Michael approached a police officer.

Seconds later, he attempted to grab the officer's gun.

[indistinct police communication]

Are you serious, man, what are you thinking?

[crowd booing]

We love our police.

When questioned by the Secret Service,

Michael stated he'd wanted to shoot and kill Trump,

saying he was a racist that deserved to die.

But how did a young British man from Surrey

end up trying to assassinate

the most controversial and high-profile man in the world?

Donald J. Trump.

[woman] We've always just been a very, very close family unit.

He thought Donald Trump was the worst thing for the world.

[woman] This is not a hardened criminal,

this is just a young kid who found himself in an awful situation.

He tried to assassinate. He was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

[narrator] Michael is due to be sentenced and could face decades in prison.

Michael Sandford could have altered the course of American history.

[narrator] But were these the actions of a boy

with a history of mental health problems?

He seemed just a totally different personality from the boy I'd known.

[woman] He's gonna spend his 21st birthday in prison.

Someone who really shouldn't be there.

[narrator] Or was it a premeditated attack?

[man] When Michael was shooting, he was doing this.

Who was he working for? Maybe he got radicalized.

There's nothing I can tell him that will make his situation any better.

And I just want my son back.

[man] I'm telling you that violence is wrong.

I disagree with that.

[phone ringing]

[automated voice] This call is from an inmate facility.

-Hi, son. -[Michael] Hey.

So what have you been up to today so far?

Just all to myself.

Yeah. What have you had to eat today?

Uh, just potatoes.

[coughs] So was porridge not for breakfast today?

I dropped it everywhere.

-Oh, that wasn't very clever, was it? -No.

-Is that because you were shaking? -Yeah.

Oh... Have you had any more seizures?

Um, a few, yeah.

Hmm. Oh, dear, sorry to hear that.

[Lynne] It's very hard to know that he's there and we're so far away from him.

All the calls are recorded and monitored.

It's very impersonal.

Sometimes he begs me not to go and he rings me back again,

he says, "I just want to keep hearing your voice, Mum."

[Lynne on phone] Now we're down to our last minute, aren't we? So...

-I love you very much. -[Michael] I love you, Mum, I miss you.

[Lynne] You too, son. Anyway, take care. Look after yourself.

[Michael] You too, take care. I love you so much.

[Lynne] I hope you manage to get something else to eat today.

[Michael] Thank you. I love you, Mum.

I love you, too, darling.

And Jessica does and Nan does and Dad does and Mischief does.

[automated voice] Your time is up.

It cut off, you see. Fifteen minutes, that's all you get.

I feel weary.

It's just the same everyday. A phone call,

I ask him what he's done and the answers are always the same.

What he's had to eat... You know, it's not a life.

It's barely an existence for him out there at the moment.

Just knowing that he is where he is

and I'm powerless to do anything about it is impossibly hard.

[narrator] Michael's currently being held in a maximum security prison

in Nevada's Death Valley, while he awaits sentencing.

After admitting trying to kill Trump,

he's entered a plea bargain in a bid to reduce his sentence.

But still faces the possibility of a lengthy jail term.

This is one of the most high-profile cases I've dealt with

and certainly it's a very complex case.

The governor will be arguing that this was not something

that was a spur-of-the-moment type of crime.

This was something that had been calculated.

They're going to be arguing that this was in fact a very dangerous situation

and it could have resulted in someone being murdered.

The maximum under the law is 20 years for Michael,

so he could be looking at many, many years in prison.

[narrator] Before moving to America,

Michael lived in Surrey with his mum and half sister Jessica.

[Lynne] I think that one's really cute.

It's probably his first ever smile.

None of us had any idea what was ahead for us back then.

You know, I sit and I look at these pictures of him as an angelic little boy.

I just think it's so tragic that this is where his life is at,

especially someone who really shouldn't be there.

[Lynne] He was very bright and bubbly and cute and sweet and adorable.

He was the apple of our eye.

Funny.

[Lynne] You're doing a funny? Oh, you're doing a happy, smiley face,

[Lynne] But I think we first noticed that there might be problems when he was two.

He would become quite hysterical

when we would throw quite ordinary things in the rubbish bin.

That was the first sign that he had some form of OCD.

This, oddly enough, his key collection.

He enjoyed collecting keys.

When Michael was about eight, his moods started to change.

They were quite erratic at times,

he seemed to become quite depressive and angry.

-Hello! -Hello!

I wondered if... because by then I'd split up with his father.

I wondered if it was some anger at the breakup.

But his mood swings and erratic nature were starting to concern me by then.

It says "Michael Sandford: My Autobiography, age 13."

It goes through all the usual things, "My name is Michael Sandford, I'm 13,

I live in Dorking with my mother, budgie and hamster."

This bit is... pretty sad. Um...

"I'm wondering what the world is coming to.

They say the world will end when the sun blows up in five billion years,

but I believe humans will destroy it long before then."

That was something he was very worried about, he was very worried about mankind.

I guess that's been mirrored by what he said about Donald Trump.

He thought Donald Trump was the worst thing for the world.

[narrator] When Michael was 13, he was diagnosed with Asperger's,

a condition associated with difficulties in social interaction.

[Lynne] He was just falling apart.

He was losing his grip on the world, not knowing how to fit in or cope.

[narrator] At secondary school, he was bullied.

He deliberately tried to run out in front of cars sometimes

in the hope he would get knocked over to avoid going to school.

I very much feel the system failed Michael.

I took him for help so many times over so many years

and nobody did anything until it became almost too late.

[narrator] Aged 14, Michael developed severe anorexia as a result of his OCD

and had to be sectioned to a psychiatric hospital.

[Lynne] He had said, you know, life isn't worth living. I find it too hard.

I was really frightened that I was going to lose him. I was terrified.

[Lynne] Off you go.

Bye!

-[man] What are you drawing? -A rainbow.

-[man] Who's that for? -Michael, because I love him.

He's very nice and good.

And he wasn't very well a long time ago and he did something wrong.

So that's why he's in there now.

[narrator] Michael's parents separated when he was five years old,

but he has always remained close to his dad, Paul.

[Paul] We all know our children and we all know their personalities.

If you're honest with yourself,

you know whether somebody has the potential to do something like that,

or not.

He's never shouted, he's never screamed at me.

That violent aspect of some kids' natures just wasn't there with Michael.

[narrator] Michael had never shown any interest in politics, at home or abroad.

But Paul noticed a significant change when visiting him in prison,

following his arrest.

[Paul] He seemed very politicized, very radical.

Very logical but very highly motivated about Mr. Trump

and the effect that he may have on the American people.

Just a totally different personality from the boy I'd known.

Um... I've got a little box with all his memories here.

So all things like the newspaper cuttings from before.

Obviously newspaper cuttings from now.

[man] Has he not told you why he did it or what was going through his head?

[Paul] No... I mean it's very difficult for him to say anything to us.

Everything he says and does is monitored.

He will tell us all about it all, I hope, when he's back at home,

but at the moment he's not told us anything, really.

I mean, I think... although it's quite a morbid thing to do,

when Michael comes out, I'm sure he's going to be quite interested

in the news coverage from back home.

[man] Why do you think he did it?

The only thing I can possibly think of

is he's been coerced, groomed, whatever word you'd like to use.

I mean, whether it was a structured group

or whether it was just a few people with a political agenda to kill Donald Trump,

I don't know.

Asperger's can make you look at things very black and white.

I think they saw Michael and saw he was vulnerable.

I think they saw a way to coerce him into doing what they wanted him to do.

I think whoever he was with has given him ideas, because he wasn't my Michael.

[narrator] Aged 18, Michael told his parents he was planning to move to America

to be with a girlfriend he'd met online.

[Lynne] He just wanted to spread his wings, have a bit of independence,

and attempt to lead a normal life.

He said he had to go or he would attempt suicide again.

He's 18, he's an adult.

He's a vulnerable adult, but you can't stop him doing anything.

[narrator] Michael's family used inheritance money

to pay for a year's rent on a flat in Hoboken, overlooking New York.

He was the smallest, skinniest person I'd ever met.

The most polite person that I'd ever met.

Michael never mentioned any girl to me, or friends or anybody.

As a matter of fact, I think I recall him saying he knew nobody here.

If Michael moved to Hoboken for other reasons, I don't know.

It does make you start to wonder.

[Lynne] Initially, we heard from Michael all the time.

But his behavior became erratic.

Sometimes we'd hear from him, sometimes we wouldn't.

He turned very nasty at one point.

He said to me, "You've no idea how much I hate, loathe and despise you."

And that was the final straw for me.

I said to him, "Who is putting these thoughts in your mind?"

Because he'd always been so loving.

[narrator] On 26 May 2016, having lost all contact with Michael,

Lynne reported him missing to the authorities.

[Lynne] I was worried out my mind.

I could only see it ending in a disaster.

[narrator] During this period, police now believe he'd been living out of a BMW

bought using the money he'd been given for rent.

Michael didn't surface again until the day of his arrest.

[newsreader] Our headlines this morning:

Donald Trump is celebrating his astonishing victory...

[narrator] Five weeks before Michael is due to be sentenced,

Donald Trump's remarkable rise to the White House is confirmed.

[newsreader] The Republican businessman defeated his Democratic rival,

scoring decisive victories...

[newsreader 2] ...confounded the pollsters and media pundits who predicted...

[newsreader 3] So what will the rest of the world make of these seismic events

that took place overnight in America?

We're going to get the view from London...

[Lynne] I was up all night watching the results.

I t's obviously only been announced in the last hour or so.

There's no getting away from it now.

I mean, he is going to be President for the next four years

and, like it or lump it, we've got to get on with it.

[narrator] It's a result that could have an impact

on the length of Michael's jail term.

We have sentencing coming up next month

and whether Donald Trump will choose to make an example of Michael

remains to be seen.

-Thank you. -[crowd chanting "USA"]

Thank you very much, everybody.

He was looking forward to sentencing

and hoping that there might be a favorable outcome

but I think this result casts a potentially very big shadow over that.

Now it's time for America to...

I'm very worried that he will either lose his mind completely

or commit suicide if he had the opportunity.

It just made everything so much harder and so much more complicated for Michael.

For those who have chosen not to support me in the past,

of which there were a few people...

[laughter]

[Lynne] I feel powerless.

You know, I want to be able to keep him strong and to give him hope,

but a lot of that hope was dashed last night with the outcome of this.

And it's made the future so much more uncertain for him.

[newsreader] ...political experience,

and one who's just caused the biggest political upset in American history.

[narrator] Michael is being kept in solitary confinement

and gets most of his news from his mum.

[Lynne] Have you heard about the election results?

[Michael] No, not yet.

[Lynne] You haven't, OK. Well, Donald Trump did get it in the end.

-So... -[Michael] Well, I guess I'm happy for him

and it's America's choice so I guess I have to respect that.

[Lynne] I realize in many ways a bad situation just got worse for you but...

[Michael] Yeah, I think it did.

[Lynne] But you do understand that what you attempted to do wasn't right,

-don't you? -[Michael] Oh, of course, absolutely.

I'd never choose to do that, I'd never choose to hurt anyone.

[Lynne] I know that, Michael.

[automated voice] You have one minute remaining.

[Lynne, to camera] Michael has now reverted back to being

the loving son he always has.

He sent us letters and cards

and drawings that he's done.

And every time he says, "I love you, I love you, I miss you, I need you."

[man] "Tears are streaming down my face as I write this.

I miss you all and I love you all more than words can explain.

I'm so alone, cold and scared here.

I feel awful about the way I've treated you all.

Mum, I will be the son that you deserve.

I'm so scared, I need you all."

[Paul] When Michael did move out to America, I redecorated my bedroom.

Just got me thinking about him a bit more I guess.

[narrator] Paul is flying out to join Lynne in Las Vegas,

ahead of Michael's sentencing.

[Paul] It's been ten years probably since I've been abroad.

He needs that support, and with that support he will be alright.

[narrator] Michael's mental health has deteriorated

since Trump was confirmed as the President-Elect

and he's been placed on suicide watch.

[Paul] He's become quite depressed

and now I think he just wants to get the sentencing over and done with

so at least he'll know what's happening with him.

We hope it's gonna be OK, we hope they take in account Michael's conditions

but we have been told that it's not something

the American system really tends to look into.

He is flesh and blood. He is my boy and he's lonely and scared.

I mean, he's got no family out there. He's got nobody to see him.

He's in a prison where there are lifers who support Trump.

They've got nothing to lose, really.

I still lie awake at night a lot of the time expecting that phone call

saying there's been an incident,

something's happened in the detention center.

To be honest, I'm really worried somebody is going to try to kill him. I really am.

I've started on sleeping pills and antidepressants

because there's been a number of nights

where I haven't slept for two or three nights in a row. And...

Obviously then you start to get really down and tired.

I've got to do it for Michael. You just get over it and get it done with.

I'm trying to get my son home.

[narrator] With Michael's sentencing just days away,

his legal team are putting the final touches to their case.

We put together... I asked Lynne to send me a bunch of pictures,

so we need to call the court later on and make sure that we can play these

while we're arguing for sentencing.

The other problem is the control we have over what happens to him

when he's in prison is fairy minimal, but the control we do have

is to limit the amount of time that he needs to spend there.

[narrator] Michael's plea bargain means he's pleaded guilty

to impeding and disrupting government business

and being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm.

The reality is that you have Michael admitting

that he tried to assassinate what is now President-Elect Trump.

[narrator] He could face up to 20 years in jail,

unless his defense team are successful in proving

he was suffering from a psychotic episode.

Frankly, I don't think that that was Michael Sandford.

That's not the Michael that I've come to know in the last few months.

But that's the Michael that the government is going to be portraying at sentencing,

I think that Michael has suffered from

a variety of different mental health conditions

and what he said and what he did was really not him

but a condition that needs to be treated.

The arguments are ready, everything has been filed,

so I think right now is just really a matter of just wait and see.

[narrator] On his arrest, the Secret Service conducted a thorough investigation

tracking Michael's movements leading up to his assassination attempt.

In the boot of his car, detectives found the used target

that led them to a firing range less than a mile from where the rally took place.

It's gonna be really loud, that's why we're gonna wear all your protection.

[narrator] Michael attended the shooting range the day before the rally.

He would later tell detectives

that he'd considered buying a rifle to shoot Trump from long distance,

but claimed he was unable to acquire one.

[Josh] This is the Glock 17 that Michael shot.

We're gonna load it into the magazine, and then we're just gonna...

slide goes forward, ready to go.

[narrator] Josh was the range safety officer that attended to Michael.

[Josh] Honestly, there was nothing off of him when he came in.

He shot 20 rounds.

He was shy, he was nervous, just like any other customer.

But I would have never thought that he was practicing for an assassination.

Glock 17s are standard issue for law enforcement here in this country.

An experienced shooter, they don't anticipate the rounds,

you don't shoot down, you're pretty much just keeping that gun forward,

which will look something like this.

You're forward...

[gunshot]

When Michael was shooting, I'll see if I can get it right...

I'm gonna miss on purpose. He was doing this.

He was shooting the ground.

He was not a good shot, just like any other shooter who has never shot

and has adrenaline kicking in, is really nervous.

They usually shoot really low because you're flinching, you're so nervous.

He was an ordinary customer. He seemed like a good kid actually.

You know, he... Like, he had innocence, like he couldn't hurt a fly or anything.

He seemed like a really nice guy, you know.

[narrator] After a ten-hour flight,

Paul has arrived in Las Vegas for Michael's sentencing.

He is meeting Lynne and the rest of Michael's family at the airport.

Quite nervous about everything now.

I can feel myself getting more and more nervous

and I'm sure Lynne is gonna be the same.

The nerves will start when she gets in

and then I think, as the day progresses, thinking about tomorrow.

It's gonna be hard for both of us and I think Lynne is gonna start struggling.

[man] What's your relationship like with Lynne?

[Paul] Lynne and I get along really well. We always have done.

Hi, Jessie! Hello!

Even when we split up, we got on quite well.

That's one of the things with the issues you get with Michael,

it does bring you together, you haven't got the choice.

-Hiya, Paul. Alright? -Hiya.

You've got to be there for Michael, you've got to work together for Michael.

The car's out this way. It's Level 1, the car park at the back.

Right...

[Lynne] There we go. One big family, Jessica, eh?

[Lynne] This is where it all happened, Treasure Island.

[Paul] So how've you been then? Alright?

[Lynne] Yeah, it's been hard, you know. Really, really tiring and stressful.

-Are you sleeping any better? -No. Nor eating better.

[Paul] At least we'll have some sort of closure for tomorrow.

It's been a long time coming, hasn't it?

I know it's being weighing hard on Michael.

Just the waiting and not knowing.

[Lynne] Jessica, do you remember where I said that we're gonna go tomorrow?

Court.

[Lynne] That's right, yeah. Who's going to be at the court and why are we there?

Michael! We have to find out how long he has to stay there again.

[Lynne] That's right, yeah. So there's gonna be a special person.

-The judge. -[Lynne] The judge, that's right.

And he is gonna listen to lots of things about Michael

and decide how much longer Michael has to stay here, isn't he?

I'm a bit nervous of the judge because I'm never seen him before.

[Lynne] No. Do you think you can be on your best behavior?

Yes!

And of course Michael would like to see how well you can behave as well.

What would you like to say to Michael if you get the chance?

-I love you. -[Lynne] Aww.

-You alright? -[Lynne] Yeah.

[Lynne, on phone] Hi, son, how are you?

[Michael] Alright, I just spoke to Brenda.

[Lynne] OK, did you? What did she have to say?

[Michael] Just that I will be allowed to make a statement in court.

[Lynne] Yeah, well, at least you get to have your say, anyway.

-Are you gonna read it to me? -[Michael] You want me to read it to you?

[Lynne] Yes, please.

[Michael] I would like to take this opportunity

to apologize to everyone involved.

I feel terrible and awful about what I did and I am extremely ashamed of myself.

I am not a violent person and I do not wish to harm or hurt anyone.

When we get in, it's bed for you, Jessica.

[Michael] I deserve to be in prison for the rest of my life.

However, I would like to ask for mercy

as my bad mental health was the reason for me committing this crime.

I would like to be able to go home,

so I can be with my family and get the treatment I need.

[Lynne] Mm-hmm. I don't think you should say that you deserve to be in prison

for the rest of your life. Because that's not true.

[Michael] I did try to kill a guy, though, Mum.

[Lynne] No, I know but you didn't mean to and you didn't intend to, did you?

[Michael] Alright, I'll take it out.

[Lynne] If the judge is swayed, which he shouldn't be,

by the fact that Donald Trump is now the President-Elect,

then obviously he can, you know, give whatever sentence he chooses.

But I just hope that he will see Michael for who he is,

the troubled young man that just made a massive error,

and give him the second chance that he needs and deserves.

And give him, hopefully, the lower sentence.

[man] And do you think that will happen?

Fifty/fifty.

[man] Really, those are the chances you think?

Yeah, mm-hmm.

[man] Have you prepared yourself for the worst?

Um, I think I have, but...

you know, just hearing it is an entirely different ball game.

You can prepare yourself for these things.

But until you're actually faced with them, nobody knows how you're going to react.

And I've tried to prepare Michael, but it's the same thing again.

You know, he's been just finding a way through to cope with each day

and that is thinking that the judge will let him off with time served

and how he's gonna cope with the realization perhaps that's not the case

is just gonna be tremendously difficult.

[narrator] Just before midnight, nine hours before the rally was due to start,

Michael made his way to the Treasure Island casino

and took fourth place in the queue.

Gregg Donavan, a staunch Trump supporter, was next in line.

I asked this young man, I said, "Would you mind holding my space while I go change?"

He said, "Oh, yeah," and I heard the British accent, I remember.

I was in my full red thing and black top hat

and when he saw it, he seemed kind of repulsed.

I found that odd because I thought he would like it, you know.

He just didn't seem like a regular Trump supporter.

It didn't seem like that, that was my feeling.

[video plays on phone]

I was in fifth row, I got very close to Mr. Trump,

I'm so close to him, look at that.

There's something about the rallies, it's just euphoria.

Ladies and gentlemen, the next president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

[cheering]

[narrator] As the auditorium began to fill up,

Cole Bartiromo, another Trump fan, took his place in the crowd.

[Cole] The crowds are just so high energy, feeding off his energy.

So passionate, start chanting things over and over again.

Thank you very much. I love you people.

I love Las Vegas! I love this state!

[narrator] Thirty seconds into Trump's speech, with all eyes on the stage,

Michael approached a metropolitan patrol officer.

[Trump] ...borders generally that are strong and powerful.

We're gonna get rid of Common Core and we're gonna bring our education local.

[cheering]

When we get 37 states...

Oh, we love our police.

Thank you. Thank you, officers.

[officer] Are you serious, man, what are you thinking?

I started filming when I saw guards tackling somebody.

[booing]

[Cole] They were just dragging him out of there like he's a rag doll.

[Trump] Thank you. Thank you, officers.

I was like whoa, what did he do?

[Cole] There is this anger...

-[booing] -[Cole] Boo! Protestors, boo!

[Cole] ...because Michael Sandford

could have altered the course of American history.

Thank you.

[Gregg] He didn't look like a murderer.

He was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Maybe he got radicalized.

[Gregg] Somebody can come in here

and they have the opportunity to kill our future president of the United States.

[Trump] That's very nice, thank you.

I think you have to send a strong message, Donald Trump style.

[Cole] The judge has to give him the maximum.

[narrator] On his arrest, Michael told detectives

that the greater good would be to lose his own life

rather than have Trump as President.

[officer] What makes you special?

[narrator] He stated that it wasn't a cry for help, only the right thing to do.

-[officer] You know what you did, right? -[Michael] Well, yeah.

[officer] Wanna make sure. You do, right?

Yeah.

[narrator] It's the morning of Michael's sentencing.

The family are on their way to meet the legal team for a final briefing.

[Brenda] Good morning! How are you? Good to see you!

-Remind me of the name again? -Timmy.

-Timmy! And the other one is? -Tickles.

Tickles, yes!

-How are you, Brenda? -I'm good. Hi, Lynne, good to see you.

-Hi. -It's good to see you.

[Brenda] When you see Michael coming into the courtroom,

I don't want you to be surprised, he's going to be shackled, right.

So he's going to have handcuffs and some leg cuffs as well.

The leg cuffs are going to remain on him.

He'll be wearing a detainee garb, a jumpsuit of sorts,

So I just don't want you to be shocked by that.

So that's how you're going to see Michael.

[Ryan] Judges do this differently but they'll often hear from both sides.

Sometimes they'll ask questions.

So the judge will often ask the defendant to speak, Michael.

So we would plan on having him talk to the judge.

At the conclusion of this hearing we will know,

the judge will actually announce what Michael's sentence is

and he'll give the reasoning as to why he decided to impose a particular sentencing.

So we're hoping for the best,

but of course we don't know what's going to happen.

He can ultimately impose the sentence that he believes is fair and just.

[narrator] Unless the Republican judge is sympathetic

to Michael's mental health disorders, he faces a lengthy jail term.

Michael Sandford is in there now, dressed in an orange jumpsuit.

He is tethered at the ankles.

[journalist] His family say that he is someone who's had

a lifetime of mental health issues

and therefore they're asking the court to show some leniency.

That is now in the hands of the judge and we're expecting that verdict

sometime in the next hour.

[Lynne] What's done is done. We can't change what happened.

But my worries are that we won't get him back.

[Paul] Which way are we going?

[Lynne] I think it's just around here, Jessica.

Have you been able to talk with him?

[Lynne] He needs to get psychiatric care.

He needs to be back in the UK.

I don't for one minute think Michael would be in the position he's in now

if he had got the intervention he needed soon enough.

[officer] Where's all the hate come from?

[Lynne] I asked for help so many times, but I didn't get it.

[Michael] It's not just an opinion, he is racist.

[officer] I understand that. You think what you're doing is right?

-[Michael] It's justified. -[officer] It's not.

If you want to kill somebody, it makes you wrong.

[Michael] I don't want to hurt any innocent people...

-[continues indistinctly] -[officer] That makes you wrong.

This is America, land of the free, right?

Everybody should be entitled to what they want to say and do, right?

-Well, I mean-- -No, everyone is entitled.

This is America. That's the rule.

Everyone's entitled to say what they want to say. Freedom of speech.

-That doesn't mean it's right-- -You know what

they need to change the constitution.

How would you... [indistinct]

I'm not here to debate. I'm telling you that violence is wrong.

I disagree with that.

[Lynne] There is life for him the other side of this, whenever that may be

I know that although he attempted to do a bad thing, he's not a bad person.

And I know we have to get him back.

[chatter]

[man] Can I ask you one thing?

Tell us about the sentencing.

[Ryan] The judge recognized that the unique circumstances

justified a sentence below the usual sentencing guidelines.

The important thing is he wants to go home.

He wants to go home as soon as he can.

The light is at the end of the tunnel here, so he's happy about that.

[narrator] The prosecution argued that Michael, by his own admission,

had planned to carry out the attack for over a year.

But the judge was sympathetic to his mental health

and handed down a shorter than expected sentence of 12 months and a day.

[Lynne] Was it good to see Michael?

He was so frightened in court, you know.

He was shaking really badly, um, he was choked when he spoke to the judge,

he was breaking down.

And I just feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,

all the uncertainty and worry of the last few months,

and now to know that it's such a relatively short time still to go

before we get him back is just... I'm just bubbling with joy inside.

[Paul] I'm quite glad to see you smile.

I haven't had a lot to smile about for quite a long time.

[Paul] He apologized to the judge for what he had done

and for wasting people's time.

The judge turned around and said you've got nothing to be sorry for.

I'm sorry.

Um...

He said you've got a condition.

If it had been a heart condition, he would take medication for it

and nobody would think anything about it.

[Lynne] Wave!

He said it's nothing to be ashamed of.

[Lynne] The judge realized what everybody else has always said about him.

[Michael] I'm just so ashamed at what I did

and I just feel awful about it, I really do.

It could have been far worse,

so I guess I just have to be grateful that it is how it is and no one got hurt.

I just hope to be able to get treatment for the mental health issues I have

and just continue with regular, normal life.