Convicted killer of Columbus imam will spend decades in prison
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Around two years after a Columbus religious leader was killed and five weeks after requesting a new attorney, a man convicted of murder received his sentence.
After being convicted for murder, aggravated murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery in October, John Wooden Jr. requested a new attorney, delaying his January sentence hearing for his involvement in the murder of Imam Mohamed Hassan Adam in December of 2021.
On Thursday, in a Franklin County courtroom brimming with members of central Ohio's Muslim community, Franklin a judge sentenced Wooden Jr. to 73 years to 78.5 to life in prison.
Shukri Hassan, Adam's daughter, said the sentence was the closure the family needed.
“I know my dad is not going to come back again, but it's something that we know the person that killed my father is not going to be walking freely outside and eating whatever they want," Hassan said. "So, they are in jail and they deserve to be in there."
Adam, an Imam at the Masjid Abu Hurairah mosque in Columbus, was reported missing on Dec. 22, 2021. His body was found two days later inside of a van near the intersection of Joyce Avenue and Windsor Avenue. Prosecutors said Wooden knew Adam.
Wooden and his accomplice, Isaiah Brown-Miller, robbed, held captive and later shot Adam several times in a vacant lot in Columbus’ South Linden neighborhood. Wooden was arrested six months later.
Wooden gave a short statement to the court before he was sentenced.
"I apologize to the family for all the pain that I’ve caused, but that's all I’m going to say," he said.
Shukri Hassan said she didn't think an apology could be enough.
"I don’t know if he is a dad or not, but he killed someone’s dad, and 'Sorry' is not going to solve that," she said.
There was not one empty seat in the courtroom. Four people spoke on Adam's behalf, including his son, Abdulkhabir Hassan. He and Shukri are just two of Adam's 11 children.
“Sitting behind me today is only a fraction of the people who are invested in this case, only a fraction of the people affected by this heinous act,” said Abdulkhabir Hassan.
Wooden's attorneys said they plan to appeal the sentencing.
Brown-Miller was found guilty of aggravated robbery and kidnapping. On Tuesday, a Franklin County Court of Common Pleas judge sentenced Brown-Miller to between 26 and 31 years in prison on both charges.