A federal prisoner who killed his cellmate because he was a child molester was spared the death penalty Thursday when a jury hearing the case could not reach a unanimous verdict.
After deliberating for almost two days, the federal jury in Atlanta could not arrive at a unanimous verdict as to whether Brian Richardson should live or die. Without a unanimous verdict, the sentence of life without release is automatic in federal court.
A month ago, the jury convicted Richardson of murdering 60-year-old Steven Obara in July 2007 by stabbing him nine times and then strangling him at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta. Richardson told federal agents he killed Obara because Obara was serving time for child molestation.
Richardson, 48, is already serving a 65-year sentence for a series of armed robberies.
In closing arguments Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill McKinnon described Richardson as a violent predator who appointed himself judge and jury to carry out Steven Obara's execution at the U.S. Penitentiary in July 2007. "The only way to deter him from committing other crimes is to sentence him to death," McKinnon said.
Federal defender Brian Mendelsohn pleaded for mercy. He said Richardson was abused by a mother who left him covered with bruises and welts and is a mentally ill man now responding to proper medication.
"He was sorely damaged by the abuse he suffered as a child, the turning points in his life and a history none of us would want for our children," Mendelsohn said. "How we treat the mentally ill speaks volumes about our humanity. Brian is certainly among the most damaged and mentally ill."
Since 1997, federal juries in Atlanta have imposed two death sentences -- one against an inmate who killed a prison guard, the other against a man who raped and killed a nurse practitioner.
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