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Belligerent Drunk
Ohio Killer of 11 Sentenced to Death
Read more: Ohio Killer of 11 Sentenced to Death - TIME
(CLEVELAND) A serial killer will be put to death for murdering 11 women and dumping their bodies around his property, a judge ruled Friday.
Anthony Sowell should die by lethal injection for his crimes, Judge Dick Ambrose ruled, accepting the sentencing recommendation of the jury that convicted Sowell of aggravated murder.
Sowell, 51, never looked at victims' relatives as they spoke during the sentencing hearing. He also ignored the judge when asked if he wanted to speak and never moved when the judge asked him to sign a court document. His attorney, John Parker, said Sowell didn't want to speak and signed the sex-offender reporting requirement document for Sowell.
Dozens of relatives were in the courtroom. As the hearing began, deputies passed around boxes of tissues to the relatives and warned against any outburst.
He went on trial in June and was convicted July 22 on 82 counts: aggravated murder, kidnapping, corpse abuse and evidence tampering.
Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Pinky Carr has said the case "screamed death penalty." Her prosecution colleague, Richard Bombik, said "if this guy doesn't get the death penalty, nobody should."
Sowell's defense team, John Parker and Rufus Sims, rested without calling witnesses and instead focused on sparing his life with sympathetic testimony about his troubled childhood, his Marine Corps service and good behavior while serving 15 years for attempted rape.
The women began disappearing in 2007, and prosecutors say Sowell lured them to his home with the promise of alcohol or drugs. Police discovered the first two bodies and a freshly dug grave in late 2009 after officers went to investigate a woman's report that she had been raped there.
Read more: Ohio Killer of 11 Sentenced to Death - TIME