A woman who was struck with a glass beer mug at a Minnesota Applebee's for speaking a foreign language came face to face with her attacker in court this week and offered the woman her forgiveness.
Jodie Burchard-Risch, 44, of Ramsey, was sentenced on Tuesday to 180 days in jail followed by five years of probation, along with alcohol monitoring and counseling, after she pleaded guilty in October to third-degree assault in the attack on Asma Jama.
According to a criminal complaint, Burchard-Risch was dining at an Applebee’s in Coon Rapids on October 30, 2015, when she overhead Jama, who is Muslim of Somali descent, speaking Swahili to her family and became upset.
The document detailed how the irate patron yelled at Jama to either speak English or go back to her country, then refused to leave when a restaurant employee tried to step in.
Without any provocation, Burchard-Risch, who was sitting in a nearby booth, threw a drink at Jama, then grabbed a glass beer mug and smashed it in the woman’s face before fleeing.
The attack left Jama with a deep bloody gash on her lip that required 17 stitches, as well as cuts to her nose and right eye.
At Burchard-Risch's sentencing at Anoka County Court on Tuesday, Asma Jama reiterated that more than a year after the attack, she is still living in fear.
'I use to be a carefree person, and now I can’t go anywhere by myself,' Jama said, addressing her attacker seated impassively at the defense table.
At times holding back tears, Jama said she still carries within her the trauma of the attack but she bears Burchard-Risch no ill will, reported the station WCCO.
'My religion teaches me to forgive so I can get on with my life,' Jama told Burchard-Risch. 'In front of everybody here, I do forgive you and I hope that you choose love over hate. ... I just want you to understand at the end of this that we are all the same.'
The defendant, who spent much of the hearing staring straight ahead or looking down at her hands on the table, said nothing in response and issued no statements after the sentencing, but her attorney , Rod Tschida, said he does not see his client as a 'lunatic' or a' racist.'
'I see her as someone not unlike many others that come before the court that has an alcohol problem that brought her here,’ he said.
Burchard-Risch was on probation for a past DWI incident when she attacked Jama last year, according to Fox 9. If she violates the conditions of her supervised release, the 44-year-old could face a 37-month prison term.
Jodie Burchard-Risch, 44, of Ramsey, was sentenced on Tuesday to 180 days in jail followed by five years of probation, along with alcohol monitoring and counseling, after she pleaded guilty in October to third-degree assault in the attack on Asma Jama.
According to a criminal complaint, Burchard-Risch was dining at an Applebee’s in Coon Rapids on October 30, 2015, when she overhead Jama, who is Muslim of Somali descent, speaking Swahili to her family and became upset.
The document detailed how the irate patron yelled at Jama to either speak English or go back to her country, then refused to leave when a restaurant employee tried to step in.
Without any provocation, Burchard-Risch, who was sitting in a nearby booth, threw a drink at Jama, then grabbed a glass beer mug and smashed it in the woman’s face before fleeing.
The attack left Jama with a deep bloody gash on her lip that required 17 stitches, as well as cuts to her nose and right eye.
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At Burchard-Risch's sentencing at Anoka County Court on Tuesday, Asma Jama reiterated that more than a year after the attack, she is still living in fear.
'I use to be a carefree person, and now I can’t go anywhere by myself,' Jama said, addressing her attacker seated impassively at the defense table.
At times holding back tears, Jama said she still carries within her the trauma of the attack but she bears Burchard-Risch no ill will, reported the station WCCO.
'My religion teaches me to forgive so I can get on with my life,' Jama told Burchard-Risch. 'In front of everybody here, I do forgive you and I hope that you choose love over hate. ... I just want you to understand at the end of this that we are all the same.'
The defendant, who spent much of the hearing staring straight ahead or looking down at her hands on the table, said nothing in response and issued no statements after the sentencing, but her attorney , Rod Tschida, said he does not see his client as a 'lunatic' or a' racist.'
'I see her as someone not unlike many others that come before the court that has an alcohol problem that brought her here,’ he said.
Burchard-Risch was on probation for a past DWI incident when she attacked Jama last year, according to Fox 9. If she violates the conditions of her supervised release, the 44-year-old could face a 37-month prison term.
. Why forgive? Even if the system failed her, I'd encourage her to seel her own form of justice by ambushing that woman and breaking her legs and arms. How can you forgive someone who did that to you?
of course she is going to act nice and do whatever it takes to be forgiven. Man soMali people can be so stupid sometimes. Forgive her?
so she has to forgo her rights in exchange of our rep? Do cadaans care? I don't think so. If she had done what the white lady did, she'd be labelled a terrorist and probably go to jail for years. Forgiveness is a good thing in general but not in this case.
