Will a twice-convicted triple murderer get the death penalty? (Updated)

[UPDATE: Yes. See below]

The Chronicle's Dale Lezon checks in on the Max Soffar trial, reporting that jurors failed to reach a decision yesterday on the death penalty:

Jurors determining the fate of convicted murderer Max Alexander Soffar are scheduled to resume deliberations this morning, deciding whether to send him to prison for life or to death row.

Jurors spent the night at an area hotel, where they were sequestered after deliberating six hours Wednesday. Deliberations are scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m.

[snip]

In closing arguments Wednesday, prosecutors argued that Soffar is a danger to society if he is not executed.

Defense attorneys said Soffar deserves a life sentence because he has learned to live in prison without violating rules and because he was failed by his parents and the state as a child with mental health problems.

His adoptive parents, defense attorneys argue, didn't offer him proper psychiatric care for childhood psychological and behavioral problems.

He was placed in a state mental hospital for nearly two years when he was about 13 and given shock treatments, they said.

"Who fried this boy's brain? The state of Texas did," defense attorney Kathryn Kase told the jury. "It's not too late to reach out and help Max Soffar."

Kathryn Kase is not identified as the wife of Chronicle editor Jeff Cohen, whose editorial page is strident in its opposition to the death penalty. But who knows -- perhaps Cohen and Kase have separated.

The article tucks away this news, which presumably is of more interest to readers than its placement would indicate:

If Soffar is sentenced to life in prison, he would be eligible for parole in 20 years. But since he has served more than 20 years already, he could be eligible immediately, prosecutors said after the jury left the courtroom to begin deliberating.

What a glorious day that would be for Soffar supporters like Kinky Friedman and Kathryn Kase! The thought of a brutal, twice-convicted triple murderer walking the streets always puts a spring in my step!

UPDATE: KHOU-11 reports that the jury has sentenced Soffar to death. Again. Let the weeping from Kase and Kinky commence.

BLOGVERSATION: Slampo's Place.

UPDATE 2: The Chronicle's coverage of the verdict includes yet another quote from Kathryn Kase, who is not identified as the wife of Chronicle editor Jeff Cohen. The coverage from KPRC-2 and the AP (picked up by KHOU-11 and KTRK-13) does not include quotes from Kase.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/02/06 09:37 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Sphere | Comments (7)

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