A convicted double murderer in Utah has made a shocking proclamation from behind bars, declaring a conversion to Islam and calling for the death penalty despite receiving a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Mia Bailey, 30, delivered the unexpected statement through his attorney during a Friday sentencing hearing for the brutal murders of his elderly parents, Joseph and Gail Bailey.
The convicted killer had attempted to avoid appearing at the sentencing altogether, citing concerns that revisiting the crimes could trigger a mental breakdown.
That request was denied by the judge.
Bailey’s attorney, Ryan Stout, read a prepared statement on behalf of his client during the proceedings.
The statement revealed Bailey’s conversion to Islam while incarcerated.
“Because of my religious beliefs as a Muslim, it would be appropriate to take my life for atonement for what I did,” the statement read.
The Daily Mail reported that according to Stout, Bailey has been diagnosed with multiple psychiatric conditions including ADHD, OCD, anxiety, depression, psychosis, possible bipolar disorder with psychosis, and schizophrenia.
The murders occurred on June 18, 2024, when Bailey broke into his parents’ home in Utah and opened fire.
Gail Bailey, 69, was shot four times. Joseph Bailey, 70, was shot twice in the head.
Following the killings, Bailey went downstairs and fired shots through a bedroom door where his brother was hiding.
He was apprehended by police approximately 16 hours later after authorities conducted an extensive manhunt.
Bailey entered guilty pleas to the homicides in November.
The judge also handed down a sentence for assault related to the shooting at the bedroom door where Bailey’s brother had taken refuge.
Bailey had legally changed his name and sex in 2023, roughly one year before committing the murders, according to reports.
During the sentencing hearing, Dustin Bailey, the killer’s brother, addressed the court with pointed criticism of his sibling’s psychiatric care providers during the transition process.
“We support LGBTQ rights fully. This has nothing to do with identity,” Dustin Bailey stated in court.
He continued with serious allegations regarding the medical treatment his brother received.
“Providing powerful hormones to a person in a psychiatric crisis without proper psychiatric safeguards is not affirming care,” he said.
“It is reckless. In this case, it acted as an accelerant, intensifying instability, impairing judgment, and compounding risk.”
“That failure harmed Mia and it endangered our parents,” Dustin Bailey told the judge.
WATCH:
Resist the Mainstream reported back in June that Bailey’s manhunt sparked major concerns amongst X users, with one being the media’s use of preferred pronouns to describe the killer.
Calling Bailey a “she” in reports sparked confusion throughout the community.
St. George Police reports and media coverage described Bailey as a woman, adhering to a practice of referencing criminal suspects according to their gender identity rather than biological sex. However, police did note at the time that Bailey frequently changes his hairstyle and sometimes wears wigs.
Cops sent a Utah neighborhood into lockdown, warning the community to not confront the suspect if they were to encounter “her.” They added that Bailey was “armed and dangerous.”
