00:00Four years after Delia Johnson was gunned down on a Brooklyn sidewalk, her killer has been sentenced.
00:06Today, emotions ran high in court as Johnson's family finally got a chance to speak.
00:11And News 12's Shakti Dennis has covered this trial since its beginning, and she was there today.
00:18Applause broke out in the courtroom as a judge sentenced Claudia Benton to 23 years to life behind bars.
00:25I feel she deserved more, but today is about changing, today is about forgiving.
00:31The sentencing marks the end of a four-year nightmare for the family of Delia Johnson, shot execution style on
00:38a Crown Heights sidewalk in 2021.
00:40I am so glad that this is over.
00:45In an emotional victim statement, Johnson's mother asking why and pouring her heart out to Banton,
00:51a woman she considered like a daughter who even lived with a family at times.
00:56It felt good, because it was a release.
01:0046-year-old Banton listened, with tears streaming down her cheeks, as Johnson's family described feeling betrayed.
01:07I'll never see my sister again.
01:09Johnson's 21-year-old daughter, currently deployed with the Air Force, appeared by video in uniform,
01:15struggling to put her pain into words, saying at least her mother didn't suffer.
01:20Banton didn't address the family for legal reasons, according to her attorney.
01:24But he says her silence shouldn't be mistaken for indifference.
01:28It's very difficult for someone to absorb that type of speech from people that you know and love.
01:37The judge even grew emotional as she spoke about the deep, lasting pain Johnson's family has endured.
01:43And it ain't easy, but I know one day it will get better.
01:48Claudia Banton's defense attorney says he's working on an appeal.
01:51But for now, Delia Johnson's family says they can finally begin to heal now that justice has been served.
01:58In downtown Brooklyn, Shakti Dennis, News 12 Brooklyn.
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