In 2003, within the confines of his stepfather’s dwelling, Christopher Bennett confronted a moment of profound significance that would forever shape his destiny. At the age of 18, while occupying an adjacent room, Bennett became attuned to the anguished wails of his younger sister. Compelled to investigate, he breached the threshold and bore witness to a harrowing tableau: his stepfather, Vincent McDorman, callously exploiting the innocence of his half-sister, Cassandra, affectionately referred to as “Cassie,” who was a mere six years old at the time. McDorman’s repugnant act of sexual abuse inflicted enduring scars upon their lives.
Consumed by an overwhelming rage, Christopher, his vision clouded with anger, aimed a firearm at Vincent’s skull and delivered a fatal gunshot. “His motive wasn’t to shoot McDorman; he acted in response to the piercing screams of his beloved sister. In that situation, 99.9 percent of us would have done the same,” emphasized Janet Lee, Christopher’s Legal Advocate.
At that critical juncture, Christopher was presented with two stark options. “He was faced with the choice of either facing the death penalty or accepting a plea bargain that entailed an unfathomable sentence of 1,800 years behind bars,” recounted his half-sister, Victoria McDorman. To evade the prospect of capital punishment, the young adolescent opted for the plea bargain, sealing his fate with three consecutive life sentences, each stretching to an unimaginable 600 years.
However, within his family, especially his sister, Christopher is hailed as a courageous hero, the one who rescued them from their monstrous father, a man who had subjected them to unspeakable abuse since they were just three years old. Cassie, sharing her heart-wrenching account on Dr. Phil alongside her sister Victoria and their mother, Elizabeth “Libby” Ailstock, revealed, “When my father wanted you to stay in his room that night, he would first take you out to catch fireflies, and that’s when you realized it was your turn to suffer.”
Christopher has steadfastly maintained his version of events for years. He asserted that on the fateful night of July 25, 2003, he went to his stepfather’s house to collect a check promised by Vincent in exchange for his testimony against his own mother in an upcoming custody battle. However, when he bore witness to his innocent sister pleading with her father to cease his inappropriate actions, he knew he had to intervene. In a desperate act, Christopher took the checkbook before departing, unwittingly becoming entangled in charges of homicide, burglary, and breaking and entering.
“It became urgent for us to ensure that we were not being mistreated or violated and that his twisted mindset was acknowledged, but they never approached us to discuss it,” expressed Victoria, who, along with her family and a dedicated group of supporters, has been tirelessly advocating for the release of her brother Christopher, who has spent the past 19 years behind bars. “He sacrificed his own life to provide us with a chance to live because there is no way we would have survived otherwise,” she continued.
Victoria acknowledged that he made a mistake, but she firmly believes that he has already served an excessive amount of time considering he was merely a teenager, 18 years old at the time, driven by a primal instinct to protect his family—a value instilled in all of them. Meanwhile, Cassie reflected, “He is my idol, my closest companion. I long for his presence, and my children are aware of his existence. He rescued us, and now it is our duty to secure his freedom. We will persist and continue our fight until Chris is finally set free.”