Penalty Phase Halfway Done in Philly Cop Shooting

Defense attorneys argue against death penalty in final phase of sentencing

Attorneys for two men convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a Philadelphia police officer are about to make the case that their clients deserve life in prison, not the death penalty.

Prosecution wrapped up their case Tuesday in the sentencing phase of the murder trial of 41-year-old Levon Warner and 35-year-old Eric Floyd. The men were convicted last week in the May 2008 slaying of police Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski during a pursuit following a bank robbery.

Warner and Floyd were found guilty of first-degree murder even though neither of them pulled the trigger. The jury found them as responsible for Liczbinski's death as gunman Howard Cain, who later died in a shootout with police.

Defense attorneys say sentencing Warner and Floyd to death would be unfair because they didn't fire the fatal shots.


 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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