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It took five years, but a jury was finally able to give Richard McTear what he deserves: a probable life conviction and even the possibility of receiving the death penalty. The Florida man was found guilty of killing a 3-month-old boy bythrowing him out a car window and into traffic on Interstate 275 after fighting with -- and beating up -- the infant's mother.
McTear was found guilty of all charges, including first-degree murder, kidnapping, battery, aggravated child abuse, and burglary. In order to receive the death penalty in Florida, just seven members of the jury would have to recommend it. And, as much as we applaud those who have it in them to forgive people who did horrific things to them, the consequences this innocent baby's family wish to see for the killer are clear. An uncle suggested that the jurors "burn" McTear. And the baby's mother, Jasmine Bedwell, who was just 17 at the time, said she wants him to "die in a horrible way."
One day before her baby's death, Bedwell says she was supposed to appear in court to get a restraining order against McTear, whom she had dated for a few months but with whom she had broken up. She says he had threatened to shoot her son Emanuel Murray Jr. in the face and urinate on him -- though these claims led to a mistrial the first time McTear appeared before a judge. For whatever reason, Bedwell never went through with the restraining order.
The next night, the teen returned home from a male friend's house with her infant and locked her front door behind her. McTear, who is now 26, was there waiting for her and attacked her, leaving bite marks on her face, neck, and shoulder. Then, in an act that has been called a "revenge killing," the man struggled with the mom for Emanuel, and Bedwell left them both there to run to a friend's apartment to call police.
It is then believed -- though McTear and his attorneys deny this happened -- that the man got into a car and drove to I-275, where he threw the baby out of a window and he died instantly. The child's blood stains were found on the man's shorts and in the car, though it is unclear how they got there.
McTear has defended his innocence all along, and his attorneys have continued to state that Bedwell isn't a reliable witness.
The victim's parents are expected to submit victim impact statements that will be read when McTear returns to court for a sentence hearing, possibly as early as next week.
Do you think this man deserves the death penalty for what he did?
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