INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The man convicted in early October for the murder of island father of two Brian Simpson will serve two sentences in prison, one of which for life.
Henry Lee Jones, Jr., was sentenced Friday afternoon. He was convicted of murdering Simpson during a home burglary, which occurred in 2011.
Under the sentencing, Jones, Jr., will serve one life sentence without the possibility of parole and another life sentence with a minimum time served of 25 years.
The sentencing by Judge Robert L. Pegg came after an impassioned speech on the witness stand by Simpson’s widow, Kristen Simpson, who told Jones: “My husband did not die in an accident. He did not die of a disease or of old age. He died because of the choice of another human being.”
Pounding the wooden counter in the witness box as she spoke, her voice unwavering, Simpson continued: “You chose to pillage my home, pull out a gun and press your finger on the trigger. And, even after you shot my husband and he yelled ‘you got me,‘ you pulled the trigger one more time. And then, you stepped over my dying, bleeding-out husband and walked out.”
Jones, in red-orange jail garb, handcuffs and shackles, said nothing. But he did meet Kristen Simpson’s penetrating stare, despite keeping his head down.
Looking him straight in the eye, Simpson concluded: “I don’t get a second chance to be with my husband. Our kids don’t get a second chance. And, Henry Jones, you don’t get a second chance.”