ST. LOUIS, March 6 (UPI) -- A lone juror refused to give the green light to sending a convicted St. Louis cop killer to death row, the prosecutor in the trial said.
The St. Louis County jury this weekend recommended life without parole for Todd Shepard, who was convicted in the cold-blooded shooting death of Sgt. Michael King in 2008.
"It only takes one person to control the entire outcome," said Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch.
Shepard will be formally sentenced April 13 for the murder of King, who was shot in the head while sitting in his patrol car on Halloween night 2008. McCulloch said Shepard, 43, had been intent on shooting any police officer he came across that night.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said Sunday Shepard had not only admitted to the crime but expressed no remorse and taunted McCulloch in court.
The jurors left the court without speaking to reporters and further declined comment when reached at home, the Post-Dispatch said.
