OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) — Relatives of a man convicted of killing three people at a party in Auburn are pleading with jurors to spare him from execution.
Shahara Leonard testified Wednesday that she and other relatives stand behind her 24-year-old brother Desmonte Leonard.
Leonard was convicted of killing two one-time Auburn University football players and a third man on Tuesday. But the woman says jurors would know Leonard's not a monster if they could talk to him for a few minutes.
A judge will sentence Leonard but jurors must make a sentencing recommendation. Jurors have only two choices: life in prison without parole or execution.
Prosecutors say Leonard should be executed for the shooting deaths of ex-Auburn players Ed Christian and Ladarious Phillips in June 2012. Demario Pitts of Opelika also was killed.
