A DeKalb County jury sentenced convicted cop killer William Woodard to life in prison without the possibility of parole, rejecting DeKalb prosecutors bid to put Woodard to death for shooting two police officers.
Woodard, 31, was convicted of murder this week in the deaths of DeKalb police officers Ricky Bryant Jr. and Eric Barker. Woodard shot the two officers Jan. 16, 2008, in the parking lot of an apartment complex where they were working extra jobs.
The jurors had the option of sentencing Woodard to death, life in prison without the possibility of parole or life in prison with the possibility of parole once he’s served 30 years.
While Woodard said he shot the two officers in self defense, prosecutors said the defendant simply did not want to go back to prison, where he was facing life without parole if convicted of a fourth felony. Bryant and Barker were about to find a gun Woodard was not allowed to have, prosecutors said.
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