BREVARD COUNTY, Fla.,None — A 72-year-old Brevard County man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday for killing his friend over a card game in 2008.
Richard Fortner, 72, was convicted of manslaughter for shooting and killing 68-year-old Marion Christopher Kachnik at Fortner's home in Cocoa Beach. Fortner claimed Kashnik was attacking him during a "Phase 10" card game and had to shoot in self-defense.
In court, Fortner pleaded for his life. He played his last card pleading directly with the judge, but he may have said too much.
"I never killed a man before. I never shot a man before. I go to bed seeing his face I get up in the morning seeing his face," Fortner said in court.
Facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison, Fortner asked the judge to be lenient. He was convicted in September of shooting and killing Kashnik after the card game ended in a cheating dispute. Kachnik's wife, who was there when her husband was shot, asked the judge for the maximum.
"He expected everybody else to play by the rules, but he himself could break the rules when it suited him," Kachnik's wife said.
Fortner's now ex-wife even remarked that, during the trial, he didn't seem to take the situation seriously.
"It was like you were at a social. You showed no remorse, no shame," his ex-wife said in court.
Just before he was to find out his punishment, Fortner told the judge he should only be held partially responsible, leading the judge to question him further.
"Who in the world has responsibility for this act in this case?" the judge questioned.
"Well, Chris was at the door and turned around," Fortner replied.
Even after a jury had convicted Fortner, and many family and friends had disowned him, he still didn't seem willing to accept that he could have chosen not to bring the gun into the card game.
"If you see fit to put me in prison for the rest of my life, I'm not going to enjoy it, but so be it," Fortner told the judge.
Fortner will be taken to the state intake facility, where the Department of Corrections will decide where will be the best prison for a man of his age. At a minimum, he will have to serve 15 years, which means he won't be free until he's at least 87 years old.
Previous Stories: September 18, 2010: 72-Year-Old Convicted In Card Game Murder September 17, 2010: Jury To Decide Man's Fate In Card Game Murder September 15, 2010: Trial Underway For Card Game Murder Case
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