NATION IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Stepfather Convicted in Toddler’s Death

A stepfather was convicted of murdering a toddler he plunged into a toilet as punishment for soiling his pants. It took jurors in Ft. Myers, Fla., less than two hours of deliberation to convict Thomas Coe of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. Circuit Judge Randall McDonald ordered the jury to reconvene Wednesday to decide if Coe should be sentenced to life in prison or death in the electric chair. Coe, 23, testified last week that he “was out of control” on July 27, 1989, when he dunked his 2-year-old stepson, Bradley McGee, into the toilet. The boy died the next day.