11-14-2017, 02:23 PM
(11-02-2017, 07:26 PM)BigMark Wrote: I could think of a few things that would make him welcome death.
Right now, the fucker's fate remains unknown.
The jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision as to whether Wood should be sentenced to death or life in prison.
So, since Missouri is one of only two states that pushes the decision to the Judge in such situations, Judge Thomas Mountjoy will make the call on January 11th.
Other states follow the federal procedure that the defendant is sentenced to life in prison if a jury can’t reach a decision on the death penalty.
In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that only a jury, not a judge, can make that decision. So, if Wood is sentenced to death, it's expected that his attorney will appeal it. I'm not clear about how/whether the state law can supersede the recent federal ruling.