The parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis say they were tormented by the Infowars host's false claims that the worst classroom shooting in U.S. history was a hoax.
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas jury on Friday ordered Infowars' Alex Jones to pay $49.3 million in total damages to the parents of a first-grader killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, which the conspiracy theorist falsely called a hoax orchestrated by the government in order to tighten U.S. gun laws.
Punitive damages are meant to punish defendants for particularly egregious conduct, beyond monetary compensation awarded to the individuals they hurt. A high punitive award is also seen as a chance for jurors to send a wider societal message and a way to deter others from the same abhorrent conduct in the future.
AUSTIN, Texas — Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his company Free Speech Systems are worth up to $270 million, an economist testified Friday to a jury trying to determine if Jones should have to pay punitive damages to the family of a 6-year-old killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.
The money that flows into Jones' companies eventually funnels its way to him, said Pettingill, who added that he has testified in approximately 1,500 cases during his career. "You are asked to punish Alex Jones," Ball said."You are asked to deter Alex Jones from ever doing this awful thing again to another person or another family — to deter anyone who wants to step into his shoes."But Jones' lawyers said their client has already learned his lesson, and asked for lenience. The jury's punishment should be less than $300,000, attorney Andino Reynal said.
Lawyers for the family suing Jones contend that Jones has tried to hide evidence of his true wealth and have sued him claiming he's tried to hide money in various shell companies.
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