AKRON, Ohio — Stanley Ford, who was found guilty last month of killing nine people in separate fires between 2016 and 2017, will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Judge Christine Croce sentenced Ford to nine consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Croce ordered Ford to be placed in solitary confinement on the following days: May 17, April 18, Dec. 8, Dec. 23, Jan. 10 and Jan. 15. At least two of those dates - May 17 and April 18 - are the dates of the fatal arson fires for which Ford was convicted.
Jurors found Ford guilty of 26 of the 29 charges against him, including 22 counts of aggravated murder, as well as aggravated arson and attempted aggravated murder relating to a man who escaped from the first fatal fire.
Ford maintained his innocence throughout the trial.
Before sentencing, Croce had some strong words, and at times, got emotional when talking about the victims in this case and the families forever impacted.
"You know, I've looked at this case for 4.5 years, and I still struggle. I cannot come up with words," she said.
Watch her statement to Ford and the court in the media player below:
“Stanley Ford is a coward and used the cover of darkness to conceal his wrath. He claimed he was an angel sent from God to protect his neighborhood, but instead killed those he didn’t like,” said Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh. “Nine innocent people died, including five children. Ford deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison. I can’t imagine the evil it would take to set a house on fire knowing there were children inside.”
RELATED: Jury recommends Stanley Ford get life in prison for Akron arson fires that killed 9
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