Death penalty nixed in Sean Taylor slaying

MIAMI, May 12 (UPI) -- A lawyer for one of the accused killers of Washington Redskins player Sean Taylor says Florida prosecutors will not seek the death penalty in the case.

Attorney Michael Hornung said he received word from the Miami-Dade state attorney's office that the death penalty would not be on the table, the Miami Herald reported Monday.

Hornung represents Venjah Hunt, one of four suspects who go to trial in August.

Taylor, 24, who played safety for the Redskins, was shot to death during a November break-in at his Palmetto Bay, Fla.home.

There was no immediate official comment from the prosecution; however Hornung noted that the alleged triggerman in the case was 17 at the time of the shooting and therefore not eligible for the death penalty.

"It would have been a real interesting legal dilemma if the alleged shooter would be immune to the death penalty but the other participants would not have been," Hornung told the Herald.