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Jury Sentences Cleophus Cooksey Jr. to Death for 6 of 8 Phoenix Murders

The panel concluded aggravating factors warranted capital punishment for some counts.

FILE - A list of nine homicide victims all linked to a convicted felon is displayed by the Phoenix Police Department at a news conference, Jan. 18, 2018 in Phoenix. Cleophus Cooksey Jr. was charged and convicted in eight of the killings. (AP Photo/Terry Tang, File)

Overview

  • The sentencing verdict was read Thursday morning, with jurors unanimously imposing death on six first-degree murder counts.
  • Jurors did not reach a decision on the remaining two murder counts in the penalty phase.
  • A judge said lethal injection is the standard method of execution in Arizona.
  • Cooksey was convicted on Sept. 25 of 14 charges tied to a 2017 killing spree in Phoenix and Glendale that included the deaths of his mother and stepfather.
  • Prosecutors pursued the death penalty citing ballistic and GPS evidence, while the defense challenged the forensic links and noted the lack of eyewitnesses; non-murder counts were sentenced on Nov. 14.