Life Term Urged in Bludgeoning Death : Courts: Jury recommends that Shaleke Nasir be spared the death penalty in murder of his lover in 1991.

An Orange County Superior Court jury on Tuesday recommended sparing the life of a kick boxer from Orange who used a hammer to bludgeon his lover.

Instead, jurors decided that Shaleke Nasir, 22, should spend the rest of his life in prison without any chance of parole. Nasir was convicted in November of first-degree murder, robbery and attempted rape in the August, 1991, death of Lena M. Forbes, 21, of Huntington Beach. Nasir told jurors he “snapped” and killed Forbes after she bragged about a sexual liaison with another man earlier that same day.

“Oh, dear God, thank you,” sighed Nasir’s mother, Fowzia, as the clerk announced the jury’s recommendation.

A few rows away, Forbes’ relatives wept quietly before leaving the courtroom and declining to talk about the jury’s decision.

Jurors said they were divided 7-5 against a death sentence when they began deliberations late Monday, but they reached a unanimous decision Tuesday afternoon after reviewing the evidence presented during the trial’s penalty phase.

“I think he made a terrible mistake and should pay for it the rest of his life, but in this case we just felt that life was the right decision,” said juror Bruchon Johnson, 33, of Orange who added that Nasir’s lack of an extensive criminal record also influenced the jury’s decision.

Judge David O. Carter will consider the jury’s recommendation and attorneys said they expect him to uphold the jury’s recommendation during Nasir’s sentencing on Feb. 25. Prosecutors portrayed Nasir as a man with a history of preying on women. At the time of Forbes’ murder, he was on probation stemming from a statutory rape case in which he was caught having sex with an 11-year-old girl. On an earlier occasion, he was accused of fondling a 2-year-old girl but was not convicted, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Charles Middleton.

Jurors, however, questioned the credibility of another woman who also testified that Nasir raped her after defense attorneys revealed her history of substance abuse, her arrest on a prior theft, and inconsistencies in her testimony.

It was Fowzia Nasir’s emotional testimony that seemed to convince jurors that Nasir did not deserve to die in the gas chamber for his crimes, jurors said.

Defense witnesses testified Nasir suffered brain damage that affected his ability to control himself, but friends and relatives said he never exhibited a violent streak. He was depicted in court as a polite man who cared about others, but was traumatized by his mother’s abuse at the hands of men.

During the trial, Fowzia Nasir broke down during her testimony and told jurors that no matter what their decision, they could not break the bond between mother and son. Defense attorneys Milton Grimes and Marne A. Glass said they believe her testimony made all the difference.

“There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after she testified,” Grimes said.

The jury’s recommendation came as a surprise to many, including the defense team. Typically, it is a bad sign for the defense when a death penalty jury wraps up its deliberations so quickly.

“We came here prepared for the worst,” Glass said.

The prosecutor said he respected the jury’s decision.

“They did what they believed was right,” Middleton said. Forbes’ relatives, who wept during court, refused to comment after the hearing.

During his testimony on his own behalf, Nasir told jurors he lost control of himself and attacked Forbes after she pressed him for money and then bragged about sex with another man.