Dontee Stokes made national news in May when he took the Catholic church's sex scandal to a new level by shooting and wounding his alleged abuser, the Rev. Maurice J. Blackwell.
The 26-year-old barber did it again this week when a jury acquitted him of attempted murder and four other felonies.
Stokes sat in his grandmother's Pikesville house yesterday, surrounded by images of Jesus, and spoke about the shooting and his plans for the future, which include writing a book about his life.
"I feel a sense of responsibility," Stokes said. "I have to prove myself all over again. There is a lot of public scrutiny about how my case may have a negative effect in the minds of people."
He said the criticism that his acquittal will encourage vigilante justice "undermines people's intelligence." He said he never intended to shoot the priest who baptized him when he was 1 year old.
"If this were a case of vigilante justice, the jury would have convicted me," Stokes said.
Stokes explained his calm demeanor during the trial by saying he would have accepted a guilty verdict and prison sentence as "God's way."
The night of the shooting, May 13, Stokes said, he wanted to talk to the priest and possibly come to some form of resolution about the years of alleged abuse. He called the priest over to his car and said he was "absolutely shocked" when Blackwell pretended not to recognize him.
He said he felt as though he was outside of his own body when he shot Blackwell and, because of that, he has absolved himself of any guilt.
"During the shooting, I wasn't part of myself," said Stokes, who had no previous criminal record. "Though my body carried it out, it wasn't in my heart, mind or soul. There is nothing I did that was wrong."
He said there was an intervention from a higher power: "The reason for this shooting is that God or an angel or someone put his hand on me."
He said the only part of the shooting he is willing to take responsibility for is bad judgment.
"Maybe it was poor judgment on my behalf overestimating where my mental state was at," Stokes said. "But I've never expressed a fit of rage or violence. I'm more rational and passive than I should be with people."
Now that Stokes will likely be confined to home detention for the next 11 months as part of his sentence, he said he will continue to do what he has done for the past seven months he has been on house arrest: clean, watch evangelists on television and make dinner for his family. He also has been spending time with his fiancee, Tiffani Taft, and his daughter, Tanee, 2.
But now, the terms of his home detention allow him to leave the house to work. He said he wants to go back to school, and the trial gave him an interest in law. But first, he wants to tell his own story.
"I'm going to write my story and put it in a book so people can get a clear understanding," Stokes said. "I don't think anyone can understand what happened to me without understanding my life before this happened."
Stokes' mother, Tamara Stokes, said her son also wants to become an advocate for abused children.
"He wants to speak about how the abuse affects the minds of young children," she said. "Dontee will make a difference."
Stokes agreed, but said he doesn't always want to be known as the man who shot his priest.
"This in no way will be the climax of my life. I refuse to let this be it," Stokes said. "I know there is life after this."
The 26-year-old barber did it again this week when a jury acquitted him of attempted murder and four other felonies.
Stokes sat in his grandmother's Pikesville house yesterday, surrounded by images of Jesus, and spoke about the shooting and his plans for the future, which include writing a book about his life.
"I feel a sense of responsibility," Stokes said. "I have to prove myself all over again. There is a lot of public scrutiny about how my case may have a negative effect in the minds of people."
He said the criticism that his acquittal will encourage vigilante justice "undermines people's intelligence." He said he never intended to shoot the priest who baptized him when he was 1 year old.
"If this were a case of vigilante justice, the jury would have convicted me," Stokes said.
Stokes explained his calm demeanor during the trial by saying he would have accepted a guilty verdict and prison sentence as "God's way."
The night of the shooting, May 13, Stokes said, he wanted to talk to the priest and possibly come to some form of resolution about the years of alleged abuse. He called the priest over to his car and said he was "absolutely shocked" when Blackwell pretended not to recognize him.
He said he felt as though he was outside of his own body when he shot Blackwell and, because of that, he has absolved himself of any guilt.
"During the shooting, I wasn't part of myself," said Stokes, who had no previous criminal record. "Though my body carried it out, it wasn't in my heart, mind or soul. There is nothing I did that was wrong."
He said there was an intervention from a higher power: "The reason for this shooting is that God or an angel or someone put his hand on me."
He said the only part of the shooting he is willing to take responsibility for is bad judgment.
"Maybe it was poor judgment on my behalf overestimating where my mental state was at," Stokes said. "But I've never expressed a fit of rage or violence. I'm more rational and passive than I should be with people."
Now that Stokes will likely be confined to home detention for the next 11 months as part of his sentence, he said he will continue to do what he has done for the past seven months he has been on house arrest: clean, watch evangelists on television and make dinner for his family. He also has been spending time with his fiancee, Tiffani Taft, and his daughter, Tanee, 2.
But now, the terms of his home detention allow him to leave the house to work. He said he wants to go back to school, and the trial gave him an interest in law. But first, he wants to tell his own story.
"I'm going to write my story and put it in a book so people can get a clear understanding," Stokes said. "I don't think anyone can understand what happened to me without understanding my life before this happened."
Stokes' mother, Tamara Stokes, said her son also wants to become an advocate for abused children.
"He wants to speak about how the abuse affects the minds of young children," she said. "Dontee will make a difference."
Stokes agreed, but said he doesn't always want to be known as the man who shot his priest.
"This in no way will be the climax of my life. I refuse to let this be it," Stokes said. "I know there is life after this."