In a dramatic moment in a Cleveland courtroom Thursday, the father of a woman who was killed by a convicted sex offender attacked the defendant after he smiled during the father’s victim-impact statement.
Van Terry, the father of victim Shirellda Terry, was at the front of the courtroom to deliver his victim-impact statement when he looked back at his daughter's killer, Michael Madison, who flashed him what The Associated Press called a "malicious" smile.
Terry leaped over the defendant’s table and tried to attack Madison, but was pulled away by sheriff’s deputies and attorneys. Taylor was removed from the courthouse and banned from attending the rest of the hearing.
After a brief delay, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy McDonnell carried on with the hearing. She accepted the jury’s recommendation that Madison, 38, receive the death penalty. Madison killed three people and wrapped their bodies in garbage bags. The killings took place in 2012 and 2013. Madison admitted to strangling two of the victims, but claimed that he couldn’t remember the third victim.
Madison’s defense team never disputed his guilt, but pointed to a dysfunctional, abusive upbringing in hopes of avoiding the death penalty sentence. Appeals will likely delay the execution for years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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