USA - New Hampshire. John Brooks has been spared the death penalty in what would have been New Hampshire's 1st execution since 1939.

John Brooks, a millionnaire businessman has been spared the death penalty in what would have been New Hampshire's 1st execution since 1939. The decision by a Rockingham County jury in Brentwood means an automatic sentence of life without parole for Brooks, 59, white. He was convicted of hiring 3 men to kidnap and kill a man he believed had stolen from him. Jack Reid was beaten to death with a sledgehammer in June 2005. Key testimony against Brooks came from two men who said Brooks hired them to kill Reid. Joseph Vrooman, 52, and Michael Benton, 32, testified after reaching plea deals with the state in which they may receive a lighter prison sentence in exchange for their testimony. A third man, Robin Knight, and Brooks' son, Jesse, are awaiting trial. New Hampshire last sentenced someone to die in 1959; its last execution was in 1939.