On June 13, 2015, 34-year-old Black male Michael Mason was shot and killed in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mason, who suffered from a back condition and carried prescription pain medication, had been staying with his brother at an apartment complex on the city's east side. He was acquainted with a neighbor in the same complex, Thomas King, and the two had socialized in the past.
On that Saturday afternoon, Mason was visiting King’s apartment when the fatal incident occurred.
Following the shooting, Thomas King attempted to conceal his involvement by asking a neighbor to hide the weapon and to provide a false account to law enforcement. Despite these efforts, police investigation led to King's arrest shortly after the crime. Prosecutors charged him with murder and carrying a handgun without a license. During the legal proceedings, King claimed he acted in self-defense, but the evidence presented by the state effectively rebutted this assertion, portraying the shooting as an unjustified act of violence.
A jury found Thomas King guilty of the charges. The court handed down a significant sentence, ordering King to serve sixty-two years in prison, followed by three years in a community corrections program. The conviction and sentence were later affirmed on appeal, with the court ruling that the evidence was sufficient to disprove the self-defense claim and that the sentence was appropriate given the severity of the crime.
