Who set Sasha Fleischman on fire
Olivia Zamora
Published Mar 30, 2026
Oakland Teen Sentenced To 7 Years In Prison For Setting Sasha Fleischman’s Skirt On Fire, Causing Injury. OAKLAND (KCBS)__ A judge sentenced 17-year-old Richard Thomas of Oakland, to seven years in prison on Friday for setting another teen’s skirt on fire while aboard an AC Transit bus last November.
What was Richard's punishment in 57 bus?
Charges. Richard is charged with two felonies. Because he is charged as an adult, his name is released to the media, and he is eligible for a maximum sentence of lifetime imprisonment.
What school did Sasha go to in the 57 bus?
Sasha is an agender teenager (identifying as neither male nor female) with Asperger’s who attends Maybeck, a private high school. Sasha was named Luke at birth, but at a young age, Sasha decided that neither gender correctly applied.
What did maybeck high school students do to support Sasha?
Maybeck’s director, Trevor Cralle, arrived to school wearing a blue wraparound with yellow flowers to support Fleischman, whom he called an “excellent” and “spectacular” student.Who is Karl in the 57 bus?
Karl is committed to helping others understand Sasha’s identity as well, and he even sends a letter to his colleges and students’ families explaining nonbinary gender after Richard attacks Sasha on the 57 bus. Karl shows compassion towards Richard as well, and he is accepting of his apologies and remorse.
Does Sasha forgive Richard in the 57 bus?
Sasha, Debbie, and I have forgiven Richard.” In the eyes of Karl, Debbie, and Sasha, Richard has been rehabilitated, and a long stay in an adult prison will do little to enhance his redemption.
What was Skirts for Sasha?
SKIRTS FOR SASHA: Students wear skirts to school in support of an “agender” teen whose own skirt was set on fire during a bus ride earlier this week, leaving the student with burns. The NorCal attack has been charged as a hate crime. Glenda Rogers Baugher and 5,391 others like this.
Where does Richard live in the 57 bus?
But little of this good fortune spilled over into the flatlands of East Oakland, where Richard lived.Who is Richard's mom in the 57 bus?
Jasmine. Jasmine is Richard’s mother. She gave birth to Richard at the age of fifteen and tried her hardest to be a good mother, taking her son to church and teaching him to be well-mannered around women.
Who is Sasha's best friend in the 57 bus?Lloyd is two years older than Richard and just as “goofy.” He is aboard the 57 bus the day Richard lights fire to Sasha’s skirt. Lloyd influences Richard’s bad behavior, but like Jamal, he is never questioned by police after Richard is arrested. Sasha’s best friend.
Article first time published onIs the 57 bus a biography?
Parents need to know that The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives is a compelling, sometimes emotional nonfiction story of a 2013 assault in Oakland, California, when an African American public school teen boy named Richard set fire to a sleeping, gender-nonconforming white …
Why did Richard set Sasha's skirt on fire?
Richard assumes Sasha is gay, and in his opinion, their skirt is “too much.” Richard thinks Sasha is some kind of “crossdresser,” and they become the target of his senseless prank (he lights Sasha’s skirt on fire while Sasha is sleeping, thinking it will only smolder a little, but the fire erupts into massive flames).
Is the 57 bus based on a true story?
Slater’s new book, “The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives,” is a nonfiction narrative about the shocking crime that illuminated divisions in race, class and gender in Oakland.
When did Sasha get burned?
Sasha suffered second- and third-degree burns after the teen’s skirt was set on fire Nov. 4 on bus No. 57. If Sasha feels up to it, the 18-year-old could be back to school at Maybeck High School in Berkeley by Monday, his dad said.
Did Richard Thomas go to jail?
17-Year-Old Facing 7 Years After Plea Deal For Lighting Teen’s Skirt On FireA 17-year-old boy pleaded no contest Thursday morning and faces seven years in prison for setting another teen’s skirt on fire on an Alameda-Contra Costa Transit bus last year, according to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.
Where did Sasha live in the 57 bus?
Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes.
What is the message of the 57 bus?
The book’s main theme is resistance to reductive binaries, whether it’s good and bad, adult and child, or male and female.
Why was Sasha's name chosen in the 57 bus?
Sasha and Andrew began looking on the internet for new unisex names and found the name “Sasha,” a nickname in Russia “for both Alexandra and Alexander, which was Sasha’s middle name.” Sasha’s new name—Russian and both feminine and masculine—was “perfect,” and when Sasha wrote an article about gender for the school …
Who is Lil Jerry in the 57 bus?
Kaprice Wilson’s boyfriend in the 1980s. Lil’ Jerry is an active member of one of Oakland’s gangs. Although she wants to get pregnant and go on welfare (something all the women around her do), Lil’ Jerry insists that Kaprice go to college and turn her life around, though he forbids her from dating other men.
How old was Sasha in the 57 bus?
4, 2013, and Sasha Fleischman was riding the 57 bus home from school. An 18-year-old senior at a small private high school, Sasha wore a T-shirt, a black fleece jacket, a gray newsboy cap and a gauzy white skirt.
How did the 57 bus end?
Sasha and their family accept his letters and words of apology (wishing they had access to the letters much earlier, as the letters would have given them an important insight into Richard’s thoughts and emotions), and as Slater’s book ends, Richard still has two more years left on his sentence.