Mason Sisk sentenced to life in prison on four capital murder convictions

LIMESTONE Co., Ala. (WAFF) - The teen convicted of killing his entire family in 2019 was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Thursday afternoon.

The Limestone county teen will face the maximum penalty for the murder of his five family members. Sisk was only 14 when he shot his family while they slept. Because of this, the death penalty was off the table.

Judge Chad Wise said all the factors pointed to this decision being the right one. He also said there is no evidence of mental illness.

“When your children get up in the middle of the night because they are scared that there is a monster under there closet, or they get up because they think there is a monster under the bed, Mason Sisk was that monster,” District Attorney Brian Jones said. “He was a monster when he killed those children.”

Now after a four-year legal process, Sisk’s attorneys feel they still weren’t allowed to tell the teenagers full story in court. Defense attorney Shay Golden said parole is an opportunity to change and have something to look forward to.

“It’s easy to be hopeful when you have the full story,” he said. “We can see as a result of limiting that information to the extent it was limited that the jury made a decision on this case in less time than Mason sat in police custody that night. He was hopeful that he might be given the opportunity at least throughout whatever sentence he ends up serving that he has the ability to change, and might could even earn consideration to show that he’s changed.”

Sisk is expected to appeal this parole decision in the near future.

The sentencing after Mason Sisk faced two long trials. The first ended in a mistrial, while the second ended in a guilty verdict.

The jury convicted him on four counts of capital murder for killing his dad, stepmom, and three younger siblings. In July, family members gave their testimonies at his first sentencing hearing.

His attorneys are expected to appeal the sentencing, it could go appeal up to a federal level.

One large part of the defense’s argument is that Sisk was unethically interrogated and coerced into a confession. McDaniel says that would violate the Fifth Amendment.

“So anything you have that puts you in the equal protection due process the 4th, 5th, 6th, 14th amendment U.S Constitution, cruel and unusual punishment if you have a capitol death penalty, those are federal constitution issues,” says McDaniel. “That once you go through the Alabama Court of Appeals and Alabama Supreme Court, then you can kick it in the U.S District Court, Circuit then Supreme Court.”

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