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Why choose life? Exploring possible reasons for the Quintero verdict

By all accounts the late Rodney Johnson was one of Houston's finest police officers, and a jury yesterday gave his murderer life without parole, leaving many in Houston wondering why the death penalty wasn't imposed in the wake of the tragedy.Elsewhere in the United States and even in Texas, death sentences are becoming increasingly rare, but they're still handed down with enough frequency in Houston for the media and local court watchers to express shock (and in some cases, dismay) that a jury gave copkiller Juan Quntero life without parole instead of a death sentence. The Houston Chronicle reported that: It sounded like a foolproof recipe for a death sentence: an admired and respected police officer shot in the back by an illegal immigrant whose history included criminal convictions for drunken driving and indecency with a child as well as deportation...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on May 21, 2008 (boomark / email).