Joseph Patterson was set to do a chunk of time in prison anyway, but we can now throw away the book on him for good.
Patterson, the man who was convicted in September of killing Adrian Peterson’s 2-year-old son Tyrese Ruffin, was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Thursday.
“This is probably where people expect a guilty person to turn around and ask for forgiveness,” Patterson said, according to Megan Raposa of The Argus Leader. “I’m not guilty. All I did was try to help.”
“Losing Ty felt like losing a piece of my heart,” he said. “Put yourself in my shoes. Imagine dealing with that pain … and then be left with the finger pointed at you.”
Patterson was dating Ruffin’s mother, Ashley Doohen at the time that the young boy was rushed to the hospital after being badly beaten.