"Man found guilty of Braniff flight attendant’s 1978 murder won’t face death penalty," is the title of Jennifer Emily's report in today's Dallas Morning News.
For a third time in three decades, a Dallas County jury on Thursday found Jonathan Bruce Reed guilty in the slaying of 26-year-old Braniff Airlines flight attendant Wanda Jean Wadle.
But, this time, prosecutors announced after the verdict that they would not seek a death sentence for Wadle’s 1978 murder.
Prosecutors had said they would ask jurors for the death penalty if they found Reed guilty. The reasons for the change were unclear.
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins declined an interview request but said in a statement that the life sentence “was appropriate” in order to “to maintain the credibility we have established with the citizens of Dallas County.”
The statement did not address the reasons for no longer seeking the death sentence. Watkins declined to elaborate through a spokeswoman.
And:
State District Judge John Creuzot sentenced Reed to life in prison.
Creuzot had ruled earlier this year that prosecutors could not seek the death penalty because Reed could not properly present enough evidence to jurors about why he deserves a life sentence instead of death. Several witnesses who could have testified about Reed’s own troubled upbringing have died, and some records have been lost in the decades since the case began.
The DA’s office appealed that decision and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals sided with prosecutors.
Because Wadle was murdered in 1978, Reed is already eligible for parole. If the crime were committed today, he would be sentenced to life without parole because of a change in the law.
Wadle’s family and friends say they will fight against Reed ever being released from prison.
At the Dallas Oberverer Robert Wilonsky posts, "Craig Watkins On Why Man Found Guilty of Murder, For Third Time, Won't Get Death."
Watkins's office sent an explanation:
Today, a Dallas County jury found Jonathan Bruce Reed, guilty of capital murder. The Dallas County District Attorney's Office initially pursued this case with the intent to seek the death penalty. However, after Reed was convicted, the District Attorney's Office withdrew its attempt to seek the ultimate punishment and agreed to a life sentence in the Texas Department of Corrections.
"It was never a question as to guilt or innocence in this 33-year-old case," said Craig Watkins, Dallas County District Attorney. "We have been dealing with this case since 1978, and in order to maintain the credibility we have established with the citizens of Dallas County over the last four years, we concluded that a life sentence was appropriate."
The U.S Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Reed's conviction in 2009. Earlier coverage of the Reed case is at the links.
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