A man who killed a Houston police officer has been sentenced to death, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.Mabry Landor III, 29, was found guilty of capital murder in Officer Timothy Abernethy's death on Dec. 7, 2008.
Prosecutors said Abernethy stopped Landor, a felon on parole, in the 5800 block of Sunforest Drive near West Tidwell Road. Detectives said Landor got out of an SUV and ran though the Luxor Park Apartments before fatally shooting Abernethy.
Final arguments in the punishment phase of the trial were heard on Monday morning and deliberations began at 11:40 a.m. A verdict was reached shortly after 3 p.m.
Prosecutors asked for the death penalty. They urged jurors to send a message that killing a police officer will not be tolerated.
"He walked up to another human being and he placed the gun up to his skull and he pulled that trigger," prosecutor Denise Bradley said. "You can send a message to anyone who dares to pull a trigger and kill a police officer."
She said that Landor would be a continuing threat even in prison because of his past record of assault and 2 prison terms for drugs and driving while intoxicated.
Defense attorneys said that death was not mandatory and a life sentence meant that Landor would never again be a threat to society.
The defense said that life in prison would deprive Landor of everything that makes life worth living, and it would be a mistake for jurors to deprive Landor's children of their father or his parents of their son.
"Let's impose punishment on the person that deserves it. Let's impose punishment on Mabry Landor III," the attorney said.
But, a prosecutor reminded jurors that Landor had been convicted of beating his parents and assaulting the mother of his children.
She said that Landor is unpredictable and prone to rages that make no sense.
"That's the way he was and is, and always will be," prosecutor Maria McAnulty said.
Last week, defense attorneys put Landor's friends and family on the witness stand in an attempt to spare his life.
Landor first denied shooting Abernethy, then he told detectives it was an accident. Landor took the stand and claimed that an unidentified bystander fired the fatal shots.
Landor was on parole for drunken driving when he was stopped by Abernethy.
Source: click2houston, April 12, 2010
Landor first in while to get death penalty
Monday's verdict on Mabry Landor III may seem like an anomaly, with a Harris County jury coming back with a death sentence.
Last week, ABC 13 reported that fewer juries are agreeing to the death penalty. And it could be due to a change in the law.
Just a few years ago, records showed Harris County juries sentenced on average 8 killers a year to death row. But, now that average is down to 2.
"It's an experience I hope a lot of people don't have to go through," said Cindy Bradford, a death penalty juror.
Last week, ABC 13 talked to Bradford. She was on the jury for cop killer Juan Quintero. In May 2008, he was convicted of killing officer Rodney Johnson. Bradford and 11 others spared his life.
"One person said, 'How will you feel when that day comes when that man is executed?'" she said.
Monday's decision by jurors to give Mabry Landor the death penalty is the 1st one in 100 recent capital murder convictions in Harris County.
A change in Texas law in 2005 may have something to do with the shift -- juries can sentence a killer to life in prison without the chance of parole. So, experts say they may be less inclined to give the death penalty.
"Jurors are more skeptical of evidence now," said Kathryn Kase with the Texas Defenders Service. "The innocence projects work and the crime lab scandals across the state have taken their toll."
5 convicted killers have been executed in Texas so far in 2010. 2 of the men who were executed received the death penalty for killing law enforcement officers.
Source: KTRK News, April 12, 2010
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