Christopher Lee Bennett
Virginia Man Serving 1,800-Year Sentence for Killing Abusive Stepfather
CC News Network – By James Seidel
CRAIGSVILLE, Va. — The case of Christopher Lee Bennett has ignited national debate as advocates push for clemency in what many see as an extreme miscarriage of justice. Now 40 years old, Bennett has spent over two decades in prison after being sentenced to 1,800 years for the 2003 killing of his stepfather, Vincent McDorman—an act he claims was to protect his younger sister from ongoing sexual abuse.
The Crime That Changed Everything
At just 18 years old, Bennett allegedly broke into McDorman’s home in Augusta County, Virginia, and shot him multiple times. According to Bennett, he walked in on McDorman sexually abusing his 6-year-old half-sister and reacted in a moment of rage and desperation. Despite years of prior reports about McDorman’s abuse that went unaddressed by authorities, it was Bennett—not the alleged predator—who faced the full force of the legal system.
Bennett was convicted on charges of first-degree murder, burglary, and firearms violations. He received three life sentences, which at the time amounted to an unprecedented 1,800-year prison term. The sentence, effectively ensuring Bennett would die behind bars, has been widely criticized as excessive given the circumstances of the crime.
A Family’s Plea for Justice
In recent years, Bennett’s case has gained renewed attention thanks to his sister, Victoria McDorman. In 2021, she appeared on Dr. Phil to recount her traumatic childhood and express gratitude for the brother who, she says, saved her life.
“My brother is a hero,” Victoria McDorman stated. “He did what no one else was willing to do.”
Advocates argue that Bennett’s punishment does not fit the crime, pointing out that convicted child predators often serve significantly shorter sentences. The case has sparked discussions about prosecutorial discretion, self-defense laws, and whether justice was truly served.
A Broken System?
Despite the severity of Bennett’s punishment, his legal team has faced numerous roadblocks in seeking clemency or sentence reductions. Petitions calling for his release have garnered widespread public support, but thus far, Virginia officials have taken no action.
Legal experts note that while vigilante justice is not condoned by the courts, mitigating circumstances should have been taken into account. “This is the kind of case where prosecutorial discretion and judicial sentencing should have weighed the full context,” said one criminal justice expert. “Instead, we have a man serving more than a millennium in prison for protecting a child.”
The Path Forward
With Virginia’s shifting political landscape and a growing national conversation about criminal justice reform, supporters of Bennett are hoping for a breakthrough. Clemency petitions continue to circulate, urging Governor Glenn Youngkin to intervene and commute his sentence.
Until then, Bennett remains behind bars, a man many believe was punished not for his crime, but for doing what the system failed to—protect a child from a predator.
CC News Network will continue to follow developments in this case.
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Thank you for covering this story .I am Chris’s girlfriend and his family and I are still fighting to get him home .
Mr. Bennett has served more than enough time in prison for protecting his sister. 1,800 year sentence is beyond ridiculous and should never have been imposed. Your article is well written and hopefully it will gain the attention needed so he can be released. Enough is enough!
Thank you for printing his story.
If the police dept. would have done something about the abuse, this never would have happened. I don’t know anyone that would not have done the same thing, this step father abused Chris’s sisters for years and no one did a dam thing about it..thank God for Chris or it would still be going on. Free him now, it’s ridiculous he’s more then paid the price.
Several citizens across the United States and other Countries have left Governor Glenn Youngkin emails, phone messages and letters begging for Mr. Bennett’s release. His family has suffered enough. A lot of us wish we would have had a “Hero” to help us.