The prosecutor, Colonel Steve Henricks, repeatedly emphasized the word "premeditation," trying to dissuade the jury – 13 high-ranking military officers – of even considering a conviction on a lesser charge that would take the death penalty off the table.
According to an ICE statement, Colotl "admitted guilt to a felony charge... of making a false statement to law enforcement in Cobb County, Ga," which "is considered a felony conviction for immigration purposes".
Because of the murder-for-hire charge, the death sentence can be considered if a conviction is returned in the case.
Mr. Roeder's defense team had hoped the judge in the case, Warren Wilbert, would instruct jurors that they could take into account Mr. Roeder's motive and consider a lesser conviction of voluntary manslaughter if they believed he held, as Kansas law states, "an unreasonable but honest belief that circumstances existed that justified deadly force".
The judge in the Martha Stewart trial ruled on Friday that prosecutors have presented sufficient evidence for the jury to consider a perjury conviction of the trendsetter's former broker.
Three-quarters of admissions officers told researchers they considered a drug or alcohol conviction negatively.
Mr. Moreno and his lawyer, Stephen N. Preziosi, asked the judge, Richard J. Sullivan, to allow Mr. Moreno to remain free on bail while the judge considered a motion to overturn his conviction.
Their lawyers say that if indicted on the charges filed against them — they include, for Mr. Maggard, first-degree murder and arson, and for Mrs. Fleming, who because of a prior conviction is considered a persistent felony offender, complicity to murder — they will plead not guilty.
We focus here on 'crime days'; any day with one or more criminal convictions was considered a 'crime day'.
These convictions had been considered a ground-breaking success for Afghan counter-narcotics efforts.As a hedge against wavering foreign support, Mr Karzai has also favoured detested warlords including several whom the Taliban were first launched, in the mid-1990s, to eliminate.
