Louisiana Jurors Decide Killer of Two Should Die
- Share via
BATON ROUGE, La. — A jury took little more than 90 minutes Thursday night to decide on the death penalty for twice-convicted killer Derrick Todd Lee, apparently rejecting claims by defense attorneys that their client was mentally retarded.
Jurors earlier in the day heard conflicting testimony from defense and prosecution witnesses on Lee’s mental condition. A 2002 Supreme Court decision forbids the execution of the mentally retarded.
Lee, 35, has been linked by DNA evidence to the deaths of seven women from 1998 to 2003. The same jury that convicted him Tuesday of first-degree murder in the death of 22-year-old Charlotte Murray Pace of Baton Rouge decided Thursday night that he should die.
Lee already faces a life sentence for his conviction in August in the slaying of another woman in West Baton Rouge Parish.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
John Orr was a renowned fire investigator who was also a prolific arsonist, and whose thinly veiled novel helped to convict him. In this episode we hear from the fire captain who first suspected him—and from Orr himself.
Madison McGhee is joined by legendary Dateline host Josh Mankiewicz and esteemed L.A. Times Reporter Richard Winton as the three of them dive into all-things Menendez Brothers, the good, the bad, and the still unknown.
NPR climate editor Sadie Babits talks about why the media has long overlooked the climate crisis, and how that’s starting to change.
