You lucked out, El-Shabazz

Child's killer to spend life in prison:

Jurors could not agree on the death penalty for Abdul Malik El-Shabazz. He raped, strangled Destiny Wright, 6...

If I'm on a jury, and a guy who raped and strangled a six-year-old girl comes up, I'm betting that this isn't going to be a guy who can be rehabilitated.

And in this case, I'd be right:

With his jury unable to agree on the death penalty, Abdul Malik El-Shabazz will be sentenced to life in prison for the 2002 murder of 6-year-old Destiny Wright.

The end to the penalty phase of El-Shabazz's trial came with an additional twist - before the killer was brought to the courtroom, deputies discovered a homemade knife hidden in his rectum. The 6-inch-long metal weapon was found during a routine body-cavity search at the Criminal Justice Center, said Philadelphia Sheriff John D. Green. One end of the weapon had been sharpened into a point, the other end was wrapped in toilet tissue, Green said.

And I have jury duty coming up. Last time, it was murder trial and I was disqualified at the last second. It came just after we had to tell what our jobs were.

Scientists never do well at that point, even dumb scientists.

- posted by total @ 4/08/2004 05:55:00 AM .