SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – The Missouri Supreme Court has upheld the death
sentence for a man who kidnapped, raped and killed a 10-year-old girl in
Springfield.
The Springfield News-Leader reports the court ruled Tuesday the
decisions of the trial court judge in Craig Wood’s case were appropriate and the death sentence wasn’t disproportionate.
At issue was that jurors who convicted Wood of first-degree murder in the 2014 death of Hailey Owens couldn’t decide whether to sentence him to death or life in prison without parole. That left the decision in the hands of the judge who oversaw Wood’s trial.
Missouri and Indiana are the only states where a judge can impose a death
sentence. Other states follow the federal procedure that a defendant is
sentenced to life imprisonment if jurors deadlock.
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