Kevin Towles
GADSDEN, AL -
The jury in Kevin Towles' capital murder trial is back, after deliberating a punishment for him. Jurors have recommended Towles be put to death for the murder of five-year-old Geontae Glass.
The jury left the courtroom to deliberate at 9:40am. They returned about two hours later, and recommend the death penalty for Towles rather than life in prison without parole.
Etowah County Circuit Judge Allen Millican will sentence Towles on December 15. He can decide to go with the jury's recommendation or rule otherwise.
Towles did not show any emotion as the jury foreman read the decision, nor did his family, or the family of Geontae Glass. However, one male juror did appear to be crying.
The jury's guilty verdict for Towles came Wednesday. During the sentencing phase, the prosecution called just just one witness, Dr. Emily Ward, a forensic scientist from the Huntsville office of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. Ward testified about how bad Geontae Glass' wounds were when she examined him.
Ward told jurors that Towles beat the five-year-old so badly that the damage went straight to his spinal cord, paralyzing him from the waist down. She says the injuries indicate Towles used no restraint in beating Geontae with a wooden stick.
The Etowah County District Attorney's office says this lack of concern deserves the punishment of death for Towles.
The defense called a pyschiatrist who said Towles is not a cold-blooded killer and doesn't deserve death. The psychiatrist even made the claim that maybe Geontae provoked Towles into beating him.
However, he admitted under cross examination that Towles has never shown any remorse for the killing.
Some of Towles' family members also took the stand to ask the judge to spare his life.
Jurors took less than an hour on Wednesday to reach their guilty verdict.
Prosecutors say Geontae's mother, Shalinda Glass, and Towles killed the boy and faked an abduction to cover up the murder. Prosecutors say Towles beat Geontae Glass to death with a piece of wood after an argument over the child's report card. Defense attorneys claimed there was no proof Towles beat the child. They argued Geontae's mother is to blame. Her trial is set for next spring.
The jury left the courtroom to deliberate at 9:40am. They returned about two hours later, and recommend the death penalty for Towles rather than life in prison without parole.
Etowah County Circuit Judge Allen Millican will sentence Towles on December 15. He can decide to go with the jury's recommendation or rule otherwise.
Towles did not show any emotion as the jury foreman read the decision, nor did his family, or the family of Geontae Glass. However, one male juror did appear to be crying.
The jury's guilty verdict for Towles came Wednesday. During the sentencing phase, the prosecution called just just one witness, Dr. Emily Ward, a forensic scientist from the Huntsville office of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. Ward testified about how bad Geontae Glass' wounds were when she examined him.
Ward told jurors that Towles beat the five-year-old so badly that the damage went straight to his spinal cord, paralyzing him from the waist down. She says the injuries indicate Towles used no restraint in beating Geontae with a wooden stick.
The Etowah County District Attorney's office says this lack of concern deserves the punishment of death for Towles.
The defense called a pyschiatrist who said Towles is not a cold-blooded killer and doesn't deserve death. The psychiatrist even made the claim that maybe Geontae provoked Towles into beating him.
However, he admitted under cross examination that Towles has never shown any remorse for the killing.
Some of Towles' family members also took the stand to ask the judge to spare his life.
Jurors took less than an hour on Wednesday to reach their guilty verdict.
Prosecutors say Geontae's mother, Shalinda Glass, and Towles killed the boy and faked an abduction to cover up the murder. Prosecutors say Towles beat Geontae Glass to death with a piece of wood after an argument over the child's report card. Defense attorneys claimed there was no proof Towles beat the child. They argued Geontae's mother is to blame. Her trial is set for next spring.
