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Brazill: "I am sorry for the pain I have caused the Grunow family. Mr. Grunow was a great man and a great teacher"

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (CNN) -- The 14-year-old boy convicted in May for the murder of his middle school teacher, Barry Grunow, said Thursday that he was sorry for what he did to Grunow's family and to his community.

Nathaniel Brazill shot Grunow in the head on the final day of classes of the 2000 school year and faces a 25-year mandatory prison term with no reduction for good behavior; the maximum penalty is life imprisonment.

Brazill testified that he did not mean to hurt Grunow and that he wished he could go back and change what happened.

"Mr. Grunow was a great man and a great teacher and I'm sorry I took him away from you," Brazill said. He said he often thought about how Grunow's children would feel when they are his age.

Brazill was convicted of second-degree murder for the May 26, 2000, shooting death of Grunow, a popular 35-year-old language arts teacher at Lake Worth Community Middle School.

VIDEO Prosecution, Barry Grunow's widow ask for life sentence while Brazill's mother pleads for mercy. CNN's Mark Potter reports (July 26) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) 14- year-old convicted murder Nathaniel Brazill makes a statement apologizing to the community and the Grunow family for the murder of Barry Grunow Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Nathaniel Brazill's mother, Polly Powell, asks the court not to send her son away for life Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Nathaniel Brazill Sr. asks the judge to trust god when he sentences his son Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Watch the wife of slain teacher Barry Grunow testify at the Nathaniel Brazill sentencing hearing (July 26) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   RESOURCES Message board: Criminal children   Read the complaint against the gunmaker  (FindLaw) (PDF) Union offers teachers 'homicide' insurance       LEGAL RESOURCES Latest Legal News Law Library FindLaw Consumer Center Select a topic Bankruptcy Discrimination Divorce Estate Planning Landlord-Tenant Personal Injury Taxes

That verdict was a lesser charge than the first-degree murder sought by the prosecution, which would have carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The law Brazill will be sentenced under is called the 10-20-Life law, enacted in 1999.

Earlier Thursday, Brazill's mother broke down in tears on the stand and asked the judge for mercy.

Polly Powell testified that she knew her son had done something wrong and must be punished, but urged the judge not to send him to jail for the rest of his life.

She also told Grunow's family that she had often thought about them and prayed for them.

"I just pray that one day you forgive him for what he has done," she said. "None of you can ever forget because this is too heavy for anyone to forget."

Brazill sat stoically through his mother's tearful testimony. Dressed in a red prison uniform, Brazill's leg chains rattled as he took the stand after her to read his statement.

"When I look back at the last day of school, I deeply regret choices I have made that day. I understand that my choices caused a lot of pain to Mr. Grunow's family, my friends and the kids I went to school with," he said. "As I look back on that day, I wish it had not happened and that I could bring Mr. Grunow back. If I would have thought about what I was doing, none of this would have happened."

Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Richard Wennet said that he would not announce Brazill's sentence until Friday morning.

Brazill's father, Nathaniel Brazill, Sr., said that he could not understand why his son shot Grunow. He said he never could have imagined that his son would stand trial for murder.

He said a videotape of Brazill's confession shows that he did feel remorse.

"My son has shared a lot of things with me and he's told me he's very sorry," Brazill said.

In early morning testimony Thursday, Grunow's mother and brother asked for the maximum sentence against Brazill. The voice of Grunow's widow, Pam, broke as she made her statement.

"Nathaniel has consequences to face and everyone must consider the cause," she said. "Why does a young person make such a sad choice? Then maybe tomorrow, another woman's husband, another little boy's daddy, and another great teacher won't be sacrificed in an angry, crazy moment."

A number of Grunow's friends and fellow teachers testified about what a good father he was and the influence he had on his students.

One teacher showed the court a quilt made of drawings, poems and writings her students made in memory of Grunow. She read several of the students' writings, including one that said "he was the best teacher who has ever lived and I am glad to have known him."

Last month Wennet ruled Brazill can be sentenced as an adult under Florida's strict gun-use law.

Assistant State's Attorney Marc Shiner says Brazill needs to spend the rest of his life in prison without parole

Defense attorney Robert Udell had argued before Judge Wennet that Brazill, who was 13 at the time of the shooting, was too young to face such a harsh sentence. "It tells you all you need to know about the United States of America in the year 2001, doesn't it?" Udell said after Wennet ruled against him. "We've lost our soul."

Under that law, anyone convicted of carrying a gun during a crime faces 10 years in prison. Those who fire a gun during a crime face a mandatory 20 years in prison, and those who fire a gun, harming or killing someone during a crime face 25 years-to-life with no parole and no time deducted for good behavior.

During trial, the teen testified about how he pulled the .25-caliber handgun out of his bag and pointed it at Grunow because the teacher would not let him speak to two girls in his class.

Brazill said he cocked the pistol because he wanted Grunow to take him seriously, but that he didn't intentionally pull the trigger. He said he thought the safety was on.

Prosecutors argued that Brazill brought the gun to school because he was angry about being suspended by another teacher for throwing water balloons. They said he was also upset because he was failing Grunow's class.

At one point while on the stand, Brazill clutched the handgun used in the shooting, showed jurors how he cocked the weapon and put a bullet in the chamber.

Brazill showed little emotion during his testimony, but shed tears when asked if Grunow took him seriously "after you shot him."

"What did Mr. Grunow do when he fell to the ground?" asked Assistant State Attorney Marc Shiner. After a long pause and with tears welling up in his eyes, Brazill said, "What do you think he did?"

Udell, the boy's attorney, pleaded with jurors to consider Brazill's age while deliberating.

"Any of you who have dealt with 13-year-olds, or have one, know that they get stupid on us."