Killer's penalty now is life term
Web Posted: 02/01/2010 6:11 CST
By Craig Kapitan - San Antonio Express-News
Capital murder convict Gabriel Gonzales returned to the same Bexar County courtroom Monday where, 13 years earlier, a jury had condemned him to die for killing a pawnshop owner during a robbery.
But this time, with his previous sentence voided by an appellate court, he was ordered to serve life in prison.
Gonzales, 35, will have to serve 27 more years before he can be eligible for parole, but it's unlikely a parole board would ever let him see freedom again, appellate attorney Michael C. Gross said outside the courtroom.
“My client is very grateful to the complainant's family for agreeing with the special prosecutor not to go forward with the death penalty,” he said.
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