A Stephenville, Texas jury has found Eddie Ray Routh guilty of the 2013 murders of “American Sniper” Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield. Routh was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
ABC News has the details:
The judge instructed the jury of 10 women and two men that they were to consider three possible decisions: guilty, not guilty, or not guilty by reason of insanity.State prosecutors have made it clear that they would not be seeking the death penalty in the case, and while the sentence for murder is life in prison, Routh’s sentence officially will come at a later court hearing.Routh pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and his attorneys have argued that the former Marine had mental disorders and was in the grips of psychosis when he fatally shot Kyle and Littlefield during a trip to a gun range on Feb. 2, 2013.During the 9-day trial, the prosecution and the defense have presented dueling testimony from mental health experts about whether Routh was insane when he committed the murders. Under Texas law, even if a person was suffering from a mental illness, they can be found guilty as long as they understood that what they did was wrong.
This will be an emotional night for Chris’s and Chad’s families. We’ll be praying for them.
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