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Madison Nebraska would be more rural:

Nebraska court sentences man to death for slayings of five
11/10/2004 03:46:52 PM

MADISON, Neb. (AP) -- One of four men convicted in a botched bank robbery in which five people were killed was sentenced to death Wednesday, in a courtroom filled with quiet, saddened family members of the victims.

Jorge Galindo, 23, was sentenced by a three-judge panel, which supported a Madison County jury's finding last December that Galindo's crimes merit death in the state's electric chair.

Galindo received five death sentences from the panel -- one for each person killed -- as well as 50 years in prison on each of five weapons counts. He showed no emotion as the verdict was read.

Galindo was convicted of five counts of murder in December for his part in the shooting deaths at a U.S. Bank branch in Norfolk, about 90 miles northeast of Omaha. The Sept. 26, 2002, heist was one of the deadliest in U.S. history.

On Wednesday, Galindo sat at the defense table in a tan, shortsleeved shirt, his face turned to the front of the courtroom.

Behind him, about 50 family members of victims in the killings filled one side of the small courtroom. Some held hands as they filed quietly out after the sentence was read. Many declined to comment afterward.

Dan Elwood, the husband of assistant bank manager Lola Elwood who was shot and killed by Galindo, said the death sentence was what his family had wanted. He declined to comment further.

Coni Johnson, the mother of slain bank employee Lisa Bryant, said she has mixed feelings about the death penalty, but supports with sadness what the judges and jury decided.

"It was like an ugly feeling inside of you to think somebody was going to be put to death," Johnson said.

County Attorney Joe Smith said Galindo's sentence was appropriate, and the judges and jury had done their duty. As the sentence was read, he was thinking about the victims' families, Smith said, his eyes reddening with tears.

Smith said he had been thinking about the sentencing for a long time, as well as the family members who would attend it.

Having to listen to testimony about how their loved ones died has been difficult, he said.

"They've done their duty to their loved ones as well," Smith said.

In their sentencing, District Judges Robert Ensz, Jeffre Cheuvront and Kristine Cecava rejected defense arguments that Galindo's judgment was clouded by methamphetamine and that he had faced pressure from ringleader Jose Sandoval. They agreed with the defense that he had cooperated with police, but said that factor was reduced, in part, by his lack of remorse.

Juries also found Sandoval and co-defendant Erick Vela eligible for the death penalty, and they await sentencing hearings. A fourth man, Gabriel Rodriguez, convicted of acting as a lookout, was sentenced to five consecutive life terms.

Galindo shot Elwood at her desk as he and two other gunmen fanned out at the bank, prosecutors said. Also killed were Evonne Tuttle, a bank customer, and employees Jo Mausbach, Samuel Sun and Bryant.

Surveillance tapes indicate the gunmen were in the bank for only 40 seconds, and no money was taken.

Defense attorney Doug Stratton said he would appeal the sentence on a number of constitutional issues raised during Galindo's trial.

Nebraska is the only state with electrocution as its sole means of execution. Lawmakers have been debating whether to switch to death by injection.

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2004/11/10/news/latest_news/b776411dd533b5db86256f480077a5b9.txt