Posted on 03/21/2007 8:32:01 AM PDT by Pyro7480
WILMINGTON, Del. - Jurors today unanimously recommended the death penalty for the ex-convict who raped and murdered White Plains college student Lindsey Bonistall.
James Cooke Jr. said nothing to his lawyers as he was led into the courtroom for the verdict. He sat quietly, showing no emotions, as Superior Court Judge Jerome Herlihy read the jury's findings that the aggravating factors of the grisly slaying outweighed any mitigating factors presented by the defense for why Cooke's life should be spared.
It will now be up to Herlihy to decide the fate of Cooke, who will likely become the 17th man on Delaware's death row. The judge gave no immediate indication when he may impose sentence.
Moments after the verdict, Bonistall's parents and several other relatives hugged in the center of the courtroom.
"Justice has been served," said John Bonistall, Lindsey's uncle. "We're just glad that the process is over, but nothing has changed. Lindsey is still dead, and we're still grieving her."
The jury's decision favoring death by lethal injection over life imprisonment with no parole came a day after what would have been Bonistall's 22nd birthday.
She was a 20-year-old University of Delaware sophomore living in an off-campus apartment in Newark, Del. Cooke broke in early on May 1, 2005, raped and strangled her and set her body on fire in the bathtub.
He scrawled messages on the wall suggesting a white supremacist drug gang was responsible. But he was caught five weeks later, in part because of a 911 call he made the next day that linked the killing to two other home invasions he committed that week.
The jury convicted him of first-degree murder and other charges two weeks ago, rejecting his lawyer's appeal for a verdict of guilty but mentally ill as a result of a horrible childhood of abuse and neglect.
In the penalty phase, some jurors wept as they heard from Bonistall's parents and sister about the devastating affect her death had on their lives.
Cooke, who was banned from the courtroom for a series of outbursts during the trial, showed his defiance again on Friday and Monday. Instead of expressing remorse or asking for leniency he criticized the jury verdict and insisted he was innocent, maintaining that he was framed and the victim of racism.
The jury began deliberating Monday afternoon. It's recommendation did not have to be unanimous and must be given "due consideration" by the judge.
Delmarva ping!
Ping!
Awww.... well, I know of a nice combinations of intraveneous drugs that will resolve all that suffering in only a few minutes time.
I'm guessing I'm not the only reader of this thread to whom the above fact suggests a black perp and a white victim.
17 on death row in Delaware alone?? Seems like a lot for a small state. CT has only 6 or 7 I think, and we have a much larger population.
Yes, but I think CT is more reluctant to even ask for the DP, let alone juries recommend it. But I may be incorrect there.
MelMarVa ping!!!!!
MelMarVa? Did Mel Gibson buy us out? ;-)
OUCH....................I need to remember preview is my friend. LOL!
As always, thanks for the ping Gabz - though I reserve the right to come up with further razzes as I think of them. ;)
Grooooooooooan...........thanks (not) for the earworm........
Huh? Olivia Newton-John is slightly before my time (born 1980, hence the 7-4-80), so I don't get the reference.
She had a hit song, late 70's I think (I'm _really_ old) called "Have you never been mellow?" So when you mentioned fellow Aussie Gibson, that song and name came to mind. Excellent, now get the sentence carried out as quickly as possible.
Where's Judge Roy Bean when you need him?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.