MASICO CAMPBELL MURDER: Sisson gets 20 years


By Melissa Quiason
Sun Staff
Carla Bearden is suffering from the loss of her only son, Masico Campbell, who was shot to death last December.
But, in spite of her grief, she has managed to forgive the young man who murdered him.
"I can't live with hate. I couldn't survive like that. I accept his apology," she said.
John Sisson, 19, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 10 years probation for the murder of 15-year-old Campbell.
At the sentencing on Friday, the Bremerton youth turned to Bearden and her family and said tearfully:
"I know my words aren't going to bring him back. I know nothing I say can change anything. But I'd like to offer my deepest apologies."
Sisson joined the Bloods gang the night before the murder and was beaten severely in an initiation ceremony.
On Dec. 14, he and three friends decided to assault a member of the rival gang, the Crips. They were driving around Westpark in Bremerton when they spotted Campbell walking on Arsenal Way around midnight. Sisson then pumped two bullets into the 15-year-old.
Sisson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in January. And though the standard sentence for such a crime is 144 to 192 months, both the prosecution and defense agreed to the longer sentence of 240 months.
Sisson had a criminal record that included auto theft and assault.
Other family members and friends, less merciful than Campbell's mother, told Judge Leonard Kruse that Sisson should serve at least 30 years.
Robert Shope, a friend of the family, said young community members have talked about taking justice into their own hands, by retaliating against the Bloods, if Sisson only got 20 years.
But Judge Kruse said a longer sentence would not solve the community's problems and neither would violent retribution.
Looking out at the young friends of Campbell and Sisson who were in the courtroom, Judge Kruse said:
"How many young people aren't with us today because someone wanted to get back at someone else or make their mark or punish someone? Can't it stop?"
Campbell had two 9-month-old children, and, according to Shope, he was considering reforming and going back to church.
Though some of Campbell's friends and family were angry with the sentence, his mother felt the judge's decision was just. She even hugged Sisson's mother afterward. "I just want the community to stop this. It could have been someone else's son. It could have been anybody," Bearden said.
Staff photos by Steve Zugschwerdt
GRIeVING MOTHER: Carla Bearden, center, is comforted by a friend, Robert Shope, left, and her daughter, Mary Nicole Bearden, while John Sisson is sentenced for the murder of her son, Masico Campbell.
a moment for the mothers: Carla Bearden hugs John Sisson's mother in the courtroom after Sisson was sentenced for the murder of Bearden's son.