USA - California. Judge Roger Luebs sentenced Jackson Daniels, Jr. to death

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Roger Luebs sentenced Jackson Daniels, Jr. to death. Daniels, 71, black, was originally convicted in 1984 ago for shooting police officers Phil Trust and Dennis Doty in 1982. On Nov. 2, 2005 the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed 3-0 his conviction and sentence, saying while it was obvious Daniels shot Doty and Trust, his defense lawyers were inexperienced and ineffective, and ordered that Daniels be re-tried. Another Riverside County jury returned a similar verdict last month and on Dec. 23, 2009 recommended execution. Daniels is a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair. He became a paraplegic in 1980 when he was shot 9 times by Riverside police officers as he was trying to flee from a bank robbery. Under a plea agreement, Daniels pleaded guilty in exchange for being permitted to remain free on his own recognizance for 6 months so he could seek medical treatment. When, in 1982, Daniels failed to turn himself in, a warrant was issued for his arrest and Officers Dennis Doty and Phil Trust went to get him, Daniels drew a gun from between his legs and fatally shot Doty and Trust. Daniels told his attorney that the he had “paid them back because of what they had done to him”.