PHILADELPHIA – Two men convicted in the murder of a Philadelphia police officer have been spared the death penalty after jurors deadlocked over whether they deserved capital punishment or life in prison without parole.
Forty-one-year-old Levon Warner and 35-year-old Eric Floyd were convicted of first-degree murder last month in the May 2008 shooting death of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski (liz-BIN'-skee) following a bank robbery. A suspect believed to be the gunman died in a shootout with police.
The judge imposed life terms without parole on Warner and Floyd on Tuesday after jurors said they were unable to reach the unanimous decision needed to impose the death penalty.
Defense attorneys emphasized neither man fired the fatal shots. But prosecutors said the men were longtime violent criminals. The jury began deliberations in the penalty phase on Friday.
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