In a moment of tender mercy that left many in the courtroom...

In a moment of tender mercy that left many in the courtroom in tears, the small, frail mother of murdered 16-year-old Tara Rose Munsey softly beseeched jurors to spare the life of the man convicted of killing her daughter in January 2000 after she refused to have sex.The jurors ignored her plea. After deliberating 90 minutes, jurors in Pulaski County Circuit Court rejected a sentence of life in prison for Jeffrey Allen Thomas, 31, and recommended that the Montgomery County man be put to death. In a soft voice that never rose above an impassioned whisper, Katherine "Kitty" Irwin, Munsey's mother, fought back tears to tell the jury that human life is sacred and Thomas must not be put to death. "Jeff, I want to tell you that I do forgive you," she said, looking at Thomas while he averted his eyes. "And I hope one day you forgive yourself. Because I know you're hurting inside. "The loss of Tara is and has been the greatest loss of my life," Irwin whispered into the microphone. "I wish that nobody should experience the loss of a child, especially to a violent murder. But in this loss I have learned how important life is, how fragile life is, how we can be with someone one day, and the next day they're gone, never to be spoken to again, never to be seen. "We need to treat everyone with respect and kindness and love. "I truly believe that Jeff's life is equally important as all our lives, that we can all do good. I believe Jeff should have the opportunity to achieve good in life." After Irwin's testimony, Munsey's father, Bill Munsey, also said he isn't sure executing Thomas would help anyone. "I don't hate you, Jeff, I hate what you did," he concluded, looking toward Thomas as Thomas again averted his eyes.