Cushing Sentenced To Life With No Release

Housing worries and life as a street person officially ended yesterday for the developmentally disabled man who has become known as the Queen Anne ax murderer.

James William Cushing, 37, reminisced briefly about his past before King County Superior Court Judge Frank Sullivan sentenced him to life in prison without release for the killing of Geneva McDonald last March.

Asked if he wanted to say anything, Cushing looked surprised and then said: ``Being on the street was kind of rough, sleeping outside and having to go into shelters and that. Things got worse and worse and worse.''

Cushing had admitted killing the 63-year-old McDonald as she slept after he found the door of her Queen Anne home unlocked. He said in a videotaped statement to police he was mad about his treatment by a shopping-center guard and other events in his life.

A jury last month rejected Cushing's claim that he was not guilty by reason of insanity and instead convicted him of aggravated first-degree murder.

Sullivan imposed the mandatory sentence of life behind bars and gave Cushing sentences at the top of the standard range for six other crimes.

Cushing's case focused state attention on care for the mentally disabled and conditions of their release. His mother, Jean Kinzer, had tried for years to have authorities listen to her concerns about her son.

Cushing first will go to the Shelton Corrections Center for assessment. Kelly Faoro, his co-counsel, said she hopes he eventually will be assigned to a special unit for the developmentally disabled there.

Paula Uziel, daughter of McDonald, said she would never ``feel whole'' without her mother, who she described as warm and loving. ``I'm really just existing right now,'' she said. She declined to say whether she will sue the state for not keeping Cushing in custody.