JACKSONVILLE, Florida – A Florida woman who coughed up a cancer patient at a Pier 1 store last year told a judge she deserves the public ridicule that has come to her as a result of her actions, but her children no.
Debra Hunter, who was charged with assault after the June 25 incident at a Jacksonville 1 pier, recently wrote a three-page letter to Duval County Judge James Ruth accepting the responsibility “of any justice he deemed appropriate,” while also explaining what led to his actions that day.
The incident was shared on social media and quickly went viral.
Heather Sprague, a mother and cancer patient, was using her cell phone to record an altercation between Hunter and store staff when Hunter turned his attention to Sprague.
Hunter, who was not wearing a mask, confronted Sprague and said, “I think I’ll get very close to you and cough on you, how’s that?”
In his letter, Hunter wrote that his family “had gone through one traumatic event after another” in previous months, including a near-fatal boating accident and a fire that destroyed his home and most of his homes. pertinences.
Hunter wrote that his children “continue to suffer indignities caused by error.”
“They are embarrassed, punished and mocked” by their peers and adults, he explained.
Hunter continued to write about the friendships her children lost as a result of her actions and the “shame and grief” that will follow her for the rest of her life.
“The reality is that my family has had permanent scars,” Hunter wrote. “Even though this scar made (sic) fades over time, it will never go away completely. My children shouldn’t pay the price for my mistake. I can overcome the ostracism. I deserve it. My children.And although I am able to rationalize and even reconcile all this.My children cannot.The thousands of text messages, emails, phone calls, posts, threats and even hand-delivered letters to they have affected a lot.
Hunter also provided the judge with 24 pages of anger he has received, along with a letter of support from a friend.
His sentence is scheduled for next month. He could face up to 60 days in jail and pay a $ 500 fine.