The judge pushed back, noting Routh’s history of arrests, to which Roth said, « He’s a complex person, I’ll give the court that, but he has a very good core. »
A courtroom sketch of Ryan Routh during legal proceedings in a Florida courtroom.
A sketch depicting court proceedings during the Ryan Routh sentencing in Fort Pierce, Fla., on Feb. 4, 2026. (Lothar Speer)
Routh then read from a statement, during which he said all he ever tried to do was be a good American and asked to be exchanged for a long list of political prisoners around the world.
About seven to eight minutes into his statement, Judge Cannon stopped him and asked him in an exasperated tone how much longer he had. Routh said he had about 20 pages, timed out to be about 30 minutes.
« I never drank, never smoked, never did drugs, » Routh said at one point. « I gave every ounce of myself to make America a better place. »
