The Latest: Judge says death a just penalty for Grim Sleeper
LOS ANGELES – The Latest on the sentencing of the serial killer known as the “Grim Sleeper.” (all times local):
10:25 a.m.
A judge has a rejected a defence motion to set aside the death penalty verdict for the man convicted of 10 murders in the “Grim Sleeper” killings.
Judge Kathleen Kennedy said Wednesday before the sentencing of Lonnie Franklin Jr. that she didn’t buy the argument that the death penalty in California is unconstitutional.
Kennedy says there was overwhelming evidence to support the death penalty verdict against Lonnie Franklin Jr.
Franklin was convicted of murdering nine women and one teenage girl over more than two decades.
Five members of the jury that decided he should die for his crime were in Los Angeles County Superior Court for the hearing.
The killer earned his moniker for an apparent hiatus in slayings, though authorities now think he never rested.
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9: 37 a.m.
A judge has denied a request for new trial for the man convicted of murders in the “Grim Sleeper” serial killings.
Judge Kathleen Kennedy said Wednesday that the claim of prosecutorial misconduct brought by the defence did not have any merit.
Lonnie Franklin Jr. faces the death penalty for the murders of nine women and one teenage girl over more than two decades.
Five members of the jury that decided he should die for his crime were in Los Angeles Superior Court for the hearing.
The killer earned his moniker for an apparent hiatus in slayings, though authorities now think he never rested.
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1:53 a.m.
The Los Angeles serial killer known as the “Grim Sleeper” faces the death penalty when he is sentenced for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl.
Lonnie Franklin Jr. faces formal sentencing Wednesday after a jury found him guilty and said he should be executed.
Franklin was convicted of murders spanning more than two decades that went unsolved for years until police realized they were the work of one killer and made a greater effort to catch him.
Community members criticized police for not investigating because the victims were poor, black and some were prostitutes and drug users.
The killer earned his moniker for an apparent hiatus in slayings, though authorities now think he never rested.
The defence is seeking a new trial and wants to the death sentence set aside.
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