Vanderburgh Circuit Court Judge Carl Heldt sentenced Daniel Ray Wilkes to death

Vanderburgh Circuit Court Judge Carl Heldt's decision today to sentence Daniel Ray Wilkes to death marks the 1st time since Indiana law was changed in 2002 that a judge has had to determine the sentence in a capital murder case after a jury deadlocked over the penalty. Last month, 12 jurors seated to hear the trial in Clark County, convicted Wilkes, 37, white, of three counts of murder in the April 2006 slayings of Donna Claspell and her daughters, Avery Pike, 13, and Sydne Claspell, 8. In the penalty phase of the trial the jury deadlocked 11-1 regarding Wilkes' sentence. Defense attorneys have said the law in some other states requires a judge to sentence a defendant to life in prison without parole when a jury cannot reach a unanimous decision regarding the death penalty. During and after Friday's sentencing hearing, defense attorneys said repeatedly that a death penalty ruling in the case could open the door to years of appeals, possibly leading all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.