USA - Indiana. Deal instead of a third death-penalty trial for Wayne Kubsch.

St. Joseph County prosecutors agreed to a plea deal instead of a third death-penalty trial for Wayne Kubsch at the request of the victims’ family. Kubsch, now 51, White, was initially sentenced to death in 2000 and received the death penalty a second time in 2005, but both times his triple-murder convictions was overturned. In announcing the plea agreement, St. Joseph County Prosecutor Kenneth Cotter said “the family actually asked us to take the death penalty off. They wanted to remember their loved ones, not remember him every time he came back with another appeal.” Kubsch pled guilty and was sentenced to life without parole, agreeing to waive his right to appeal his sentence. “I'm 75 years old. I'll soon be 76. And we decided that the best thing would be life in prison, because that way we don't have all the appeals. We don't have all this to go through and the kids don't have to deal with this constantly,” said Diane Mauk, the mother of victim Beth Kubsch. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Eric Tamashasky said, "For the family, this gives them the closure that they’ve so desperately needed for 20 years.” (See also 21/03/2005, 19/04/2005, 23/09/2016, 14/09/2018)