Holden Matthews, who burned 3 Black churches in Louisiana in 2019, sentenced to 25 years in federal prison
LAFAYETTE, La. — Holden Matthews, who pleaded guilty to setting three historically Black St. Landry Parish churches on fire, will spend more than 23 years in federal prison.
Matthews will serve 282 months after he was sentenced Monday by Federal District Judge Robert Summerhays. The judge sentenced him to 25 years but gave him 18 months credit for the time he has already spent in jail. Summerhays recommended Matthews receive substance abuse treatment and mental health counseling while in prison.
Summerhays said that even though the arsons weren't driven by race, they brought back fears to a "dark time in history," referencing when Black churches were burned and bombed by white supremacists during the civil rights movement.
Matthews also must pay about $2.7 million in restitution to the churches he burned. Matthews burned three churches — St. Mary Baptist Church, Greater Union Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church — over a 10-day span in 2019.
Louisiana church fires: Holden Matthews pleads guilty to state, federal crimes
“The sentence handed down today will not bring their churches back but should send a clear message that there is a high price to pay for this type of destruction and violence and these type of crimes will not be tolerated by this office," acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Hook said in a statement.
During his sentencing, Matthews gave a statement to the court and apologized for his actions.
"There are not enough words in the English language to express how sorry I am," Matthews said. "If I could go back and change it all I would."
Matthews also said he had "found Christ" while in jail and was remorseful that his crimes not only hurt his "real family and friends" but also his "brothers and sisters in Christ."
He pleaded guilty to three federal charges of intentional damage to religious property, which are hate crimes under the Church Arson Prevention Act. He also pleaded guilty to one federal count of using fire to commit a felony.
Federal prosecutors asked Summerhays to sentence Matthews to 30 years in prison. Matthews' defense attorney asked for 10 years and one day.
As part of a plea deal, Matthews could have been sentenced to a maximum of 70 years for his four federal charges.
The 23-year-old's sentencing began Friday but was delayed after new evidence was introduced. That evidence was revealed Monday as phone conversations between Matthews and his parents.
The conversations were on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
The conversation Friday was after his initial sentencing hearing. Federal prosecutor J. Luke Walker said Matthews was making a "mockery" of the court and that Matthews spoke poorly of parishioners who gave testimony. He said on the phone, "one of these b------- thought they would see justice but they didn't get it" and said some of the parishioners weren't Christians.
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Talbot said Matthews, who is in protective custody by himself in a cell for 23 hours a day, was expressing frustration. Walker argued the conversations showed Matthews' true character.
Parishioners who attended the hearing said they were reluctant to accept Matthews' apology in light of those phone calls.
"In light of everything that was before this young man, the weight of what you've done, and you still have a lot of negativity that you have not addressed within yourself," said Sheryl Richard, who has been a member of Greater Union Baptist Church for more than 50 years.
Summerhays heard testimony from church members and Dr. Mary Lou Kelley, a clinical psychologist and professor at Louisiana State University on Friday.
Kelley, who performed a psychological evaluation of Matthews after his arrest, revealed that Matthews had been drunk during each of the church fires that he started, saying that he had a history of substance abuse and that his parents' interventions had failed.
She also said Matthews suffered from major depressive episodes and had below-average verbal abilities, working memory and non-verbal reasoning. She added that his judgement was "poorly developed, similar to a young adolescent."
The churches are rebuilding.
Holden Matthews' arrest in 2019: Deputy's son arrested as authorities investigate ties to black metal
Federal prosecutors argued during a bond hearing earlier this year that Matthews set the churches on fire to gain notoriety in the black metal music community, a subgenre that focuses on dark themes. Matthews copied similar crimes committed in the 1990s by a Norwegian metal band.
Matthews took photos and videos of the burning churches on his cell phone.
Matthews also pleaded guilty to six charges at the state level: three hate crime charges, two simple arson charges and one charge of aggravated arson. He will be required to register with the state as an arsonist upon his eventual release from prison. That sentencing will likely be heard later this week.
Follow reporter Ashley White on Twitter: @AshleyyDi