Juror Denies Death Penalty for Racist Former Soldier

A racist former paratrooper who gunned down a black couple on the street was sentenced to life in prison without parole Thursday after a lone juror held out against the death penalty.

Under state law, Judge Coy Brewer had to impose two life terms on former Army Pfc. James Burmeister II because the jury could not unanimously decide on a sentence.

Burmeister, 21, of Thompson, Pa., was convicted last week of murder and conspiracy in the 1995 slayings of Jackie Burden, 27, and Michael James, 36.

Prosecutors depicted Burmeister as a skinhead who hoped to earn a spider web tattoo by killing a black person.

The murders prompted an Armywide probe of racism in the ranks. It found 22 soldiers at Ft. Bragg, including Burmeister and the two other soldiers charged in the killings, with extremist sympathies.

The woman who held out, Lori Caulder, “didn’t really believe in the death penalty,” said a fellow juror, Darcy Day, who was in tears after the case was over.

Juror Robby Mareau said the 11 who favored the death penalty wanted to send a message that “society is tired of this kind of ignorance.”

But Caulder said she believes Burmeister merely went along when his friends did the killing. “I still do not believe that Burmeister is the trigger man,” she said.

Before sentencing, Burmeister addressed the court.

“The state has chosen to blame me for this. So be it for now,” said Burmeister, who has denied pulling the trigger. “I’m not conceding. And I’m not going to quit. It’s not over.”