Quotes of the Day

From a jail cell at Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center, White Supremacist Matt Hale issued his first statement this morning. The words came through his mother Evelyn Hutcheson, who speaks with her son once a week for a 15 minute phone call, which is monitored by the FBI. Here is what he said: "There is simply no way that any supporter of mine would commit such a heinous crime. I totally condemn it and I want the perpetrator caught and prosecuted. I only hope they sincerely wish to apprehend this animal instead of railroading the innocent. Only an idiot would think that I would do this. My sentencing date is April 6."

Hale, 33, is facing a jail sentence of up to 40 years for attempting to arrange the murder of Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow, who presided over a trademark dispute involving the name of Hale's organization. On Monday night, Lefkow’s mother and husband were shot to death in the basement of their home in the Lakewood/Balmoral neighborhood of Chicago.

• Marguerite Michaels/Chicago
• White Supremacist Matt Hale issues his first statement from jail on the murders of the husband and mother of a Chicago judge